Light in the Darkness
by Gogeta327
Summary: A girl who awoke in darkness, unaware of who exactly she is, or where she came from. She finds herself in the city of Dublith, where she meets two brothers, with hearts made of fullmetal. She strikes a deal with the golden brothers, and propose that if they help her recover her memories, then she will help them recover their original bodies back. [FMA: Brotherhood storyline]
1. Beasts of Dublith

She stood atop of the dirty roof, with a cool, bitter breeze scraping across her face. The wind ran through her dark wavy hair, which was put in a high ponytail with messy bangs spread down her forehead and into her dark brown eyes. Her long sleeved lavender shirt clung to her caramel skin as she pulled her dark gray jacket over her to keep from getting chilly.

She watched from the roof, when the loud, clanking sound was heard. It was a suit of armor, walking aimlessly, as if he was lost. He was mumbling to himself, who oddly had a high pitched voice. Before he could keep walking, she could see three people suddenly in front of him. The armored man held up a piece of paper, before what seemed to be for directions. Before he could get a helpful answer, they ambushed him, with a lady with dark green tattoos kicking off the man's helmet, before jumping inside.

 _So he's hollow, hm?_ The girl thought to herself curiously, as she watch the events unfold in front of her.

The armored man was panicking, at this point, scrambling to control his body as the lady inside had already beaten him to it. The lady took control of the body, as the two guys turned around and walked off in the opposite direction they had came from. The girl on the roof watched in amusement, as she got up and followed them. They came to a halt when they reached a small door with a sign that said, "Devil's Nest". They walked through the door clearly ignoring the armored man's protesting.

It was quiet for a little bit, before she heard more yelling. This time was a boy, with bright blonde hair and golden eyes, like the sun.

"Hey Al! Al! Where did you go?! A big guy in a suit of armor you'd think I'd be able to find him easily." He called out, and the girl registered that he was looking for the armored man that had just past. She didn't fail to notice his automail arm. She got curious, and couldn't help but wonder how he lost his arm, and the other guy seemed to lose his body. She watched him as he stood before the sign, and before long, opened the door and stepped inside.

The girl on the roof grinned. _They're exactly who I need for my mission._ She then stretched her arms and legs, as she floated down to the ground, and hovered over to the door and opened it. It was eerie, a bitter cold blew through her, as she suddenly had a very bad feeling. She ignored it, and walked into the darkness.

 **xxx**

"...ther!" She couldn't make out the words being said as she walked down the dark hallway. She couldn't see anything except a light that was shining from the door on the side.

"...you could get kidnapped." Another voice spoke out, this time a bit clearer. She walked silently, nulling the sound of her brown boots squishing on the ground. She was right by the door, and simply stood beside it as she listened.

"Brother! This guy is a homunculus!" A voice that sounded like the armored man, before another voice spoke up, deeper, and much more malicious.

"Hey! Way to ruin it." The deeper voice sounded disappointed, which she presumed came from the homunculus that the armored man was talking about.

"Are you serious?" She heard the voice of the boy with golden hair, his tone calm yet serious.

She took a quiet step, and peeked just barely past the door so she could see everyone, but they couldn't see her.

She saw a man, wearing a fur coat vest, with a tight maroon shirt, defining his abs with dark pants. His hand was in the air, and she saw the tattoo that the golden boy had been talking about. Then she saw the armored man, who was chained up, and she assumed that the lady with the green tattoos was still inside. There was the two guys she had seen outside, one with a katana at his side, and a much bigger guy, bigger than the armor. Then stood the golden boy, whose fist were clenched tightly as he shot glares at the one holding his hand up.

The armored man voice perked up again, with what would be his eyes glowed within the armor. "We might be able to get some leads from him to get our original bodies back!" She grinned, with that said, it confirmed her suspicions, and she was determined to meet these two brothers. As optimistic as the armored brother sounded, the golden brother seemed to stand still, his glares still as fierce to the homunculus as ever.

An ouroboros tattoo." He practically spat in disgust. The homunculus grinned widely, as he almost chuckled.

"My, aren't you observant? I was hoping that I'd only have to deal with the armored giant."

"Why don't you just ask your partners whatever you wanna know?" The golden boy spoke up, as the homunculus took a step closer.

"Partners?" He questioned, as the golden boy responded with a quick, "yeah."

"The rest of the ouroborus gang from the Fifth Lab?" She stiffened at that name, but she didn't know why. Suddenly she was consumed with fear, but quickly swallowed it down before it had any time to burst. "They had a couple of armor bonded souls as well."

 _So the armored brother's soul is bonded to that armor? How strange._

"You don't say?" The homunculus spoke, sounding clearly unamused with a hint of sarcasm. "Well it's kind of a long story, but we don't talk much anymore." His voice hummed, before grinning even wider. "I've got a proposal for you. You guys are pretty desperate to get your bodies back, right? Because I could teach you to fabricate your own homunculus in no time at all." She could hear the golden boy slightly gasp inward. "And in return, all I ask is that you treat me how to transmute a soul." His grin seemed to be becoming wider, as he kept talking.

"Classic Equivalent Exchange." He chuckled under his breath before turning to the armored brother. "But I really don't understand why you would want your other body back." She could practically hear the golden boy flinch at that last statement. "You've got one that's perfect already!" As if a reflex, the armored brother quickly protested.

"No I don't!"

The homunculus spoke again. "You're joking, right? You don't need to eat, sleep, you don't even need to use the toilet! Sounds great to me." He said as he towered over the armored brother.

It was quiet for only a few seconds, before the golden boy spoke up. "That's enough." He said quietly, venom practically spitting from his mouth. "Shut your damned mouth!" He let out a scream of frustration and anger, before stomping his foot on the ground.

"Sounds great to you?! It seems perfect?! You don't know anything about the hell he's had to go through stuck with that body!" He growled, gritting his teeth. "And you wanna know how to transmute a soul?! You kidnapped my brother and now you want to trade secrets with me?!" A weird burst of angry wind gusted throughout the room, as the golden boy kept yelling in anger. "I'm gonna crush you creeps! I'll smash you! In other words, they're won't be any exchange with you!" A strange heat burst throughout the room, as the golden brother shakily pointed his finger at the homunculus. "Not with you… scuuummmm!"

The room was quiet, trying to understand his outburst before the homunculus started clapping.

"Damn." She whispered with a grin, her voice shaky with laughter.

The man with the katana grabbed the handle, as slowly started to pull it out. "I guess we're doing this by force again." As he took a couple of steps forward towards the golden brother.

"Don't kill him, okay?" The homunculus spoke, as the man with the katana lazily agreed, before quickly take a swing at the golden boy. He easily dodged, spinning in the air. "You're a lot smaller than a prisoner I know!" Before he landed a kick on his face, and the guy went down to the floor. The golden brother clapped his hands together and touched his metal arm, as a faint blue light flashed in the room before he turned it into a weapon.

 _Was that alchemy? Well, this should be interesting._

"Next." The golden boy challenged, before the homunculus ordered one of his guys to move the armored brother out of the room. The bigger man easily picked up the armor, and was beginning to walk out of the door.

"Drop him!" The golden boy said as he moved swiftly to the bigger man holding his brother, before the homunculus stepped into the way and blocked his attack with his hand, which had turned a dark, steel gray color. The golden boy took his hand and tried to make a swipes at his face, however failing as the homunculus easily blocked it with his arms. The homunculus finally took a swing at the golden boy, only grazing his hair as he clapped his hands together, creating more elevation on the homunculus as he tried to go for his face. The homunculus simply put both of his hands up in front of his face, with a smug grin on his face.

"Nope. Sorry. That little hand sword of yours is pretty neat, but you can't even scratch my Ultimate Shield!" He said as he made a move towards the golden boy, but he was quick, before placing his hand on the ground and causing the ground to rise before him, and he punch the rocks, causing them to shortly blind the homunculus, as he cover his face from the rubble. The golden boy quickly made a move and jumped into the air, wrapping his legs around the homunculus's neck and slamming him to the ground, causing blood to spray up.

 _Wow, he's good at fighting too! I think it's about time I introduce myself._

"Guard your head next time!" The golden boy said smugly, before jumping up quickly as the homunculus took a swing at him, causing more blood to spray onto the floor.

"Ugh, that hurt! That move would have hospitalized most people." The homunculus said boredly as he sat up and stretched his neck. She was still hiding on the side of the door, before she decided to move in. She clapped slowly, very impressed by the golden boy's way of fighting. His reflexes kicked in quickly, before turning his body toward the girl and raising a cautious hand.

"You fight pretty good for how young you look! You're probably about my age, right?"

The golden boy looked innocently confused, and lost. "Where did you come from?" She couldn't help but smile very big.

"I'm not sure, but that's why you're going to help me!"

"Hm? Help you with what?" The golden boy's expression changed from confused to a bit angry and annoyance.

"I lost something of mine, and I need to get it back." She said before slowly walking towards the homunculus, and standing before him.

"Hey! Get away from him! He's dangerous!" The golden boy yelled out in concern. The girl simply sat in front of the homunculus, and grabbed his hand.

"Heeey! What are you doing?! Are you nuts?!" The golden boy was steaming, completely baffled at what this girl was doing.

"Calm down. I just wanna look at the tattoo." She held up his hand to her eyes, before scanning it. It looked familiar, but she couldn't place it. The homunculus simply stared boredly at the girl, before she looked up at him with intense eyes that made the homunculus flinch just slightly.

"Hey. What's your name?" She questioned the homunculus, who was staring into her intense eyes for only a moment before grinning widely.

"The name's Greed, kid. I'm a homunculus." He smirked at his own introduction as the girl sighed boredly and closing her eyes."

"I know you're a homunculus, geez." Greed sweatdropped. "So does that mean you're one of the Seven Deadly Sins?"

"You got that right. I want money and power and women, and sex, status and glory." He smirked again, his steel blue eyes piercing her dark ones. She looked deeply in his eyes, and couldn't help but notice that they seemed to be unhinged, as if uncertain. She nodded slowly, and let go of his hand, before standing up and dusting off her clothes. The golden boy was sweating, with a deadpanned look over his face at the conversation the girl and Greed just had.

"What about you, kid? Who're you?" She smiled as she looked down at Greed.

"I'm Emmi! And you!" She said fiercely as she pointed toward the golden boy, who flinched and swallowed a gulp of spit.

"What's your name?!" She yelled, even though they were only a couple of feet away from each other.

"U-uh… I'm Edward Elric."

"Edward Elric, huh? And your brother! What's his name?!" Edward flinched again.

"I-it's Alphonse Elric. And can you quit shouting?! What the hell are you even doing here?! Don't you realize how dangerous he is?!" He bellowed back, but comically fell to the ground as he realized that she wasn't listening to him.

"Edward and Alphonse. I like those names!" She smiled brightly before turning to Ed.

"I have a deal for you, Edward Elric!" Her eyes were intense, as her smile grew bigger.

"Huh? Another deal?" She walked closer to him, and instinctively he took a step back.

"I'll help you get your bodies back, if you help me find what I've lost!" Ed's eyes grew a fraction larger upon her request, before turning serious.

"How do you know about that?" His voice low, and he gripped his fist tightly.

"Well, I can see you have a automail arm, and during the fighting, I can hear that you have an automail leg from the sounds it gives off. And your brother's soul is bonded to a suit of armor. It's pretty clear you both performed human transmutation." His eyes filled with anger, as he gritted his teeth as his breathing went heavy. Emmi could see him glaring at her fiercely, like he was ready to punch her.

"But, I'm not going to hold you down about it. What's in the past is in the past. What matters now is that I want to help you two, if you promise to help me in return."

"Why should we? We don't even know anything about you." Ed spat, his voice clearly laced in venom. Emmi took a deep breath before talking.

"I lost my memories. I can't remember a thing about my family, my friends, or my old life. All I remember is waking up in a dark place, and struggling to find the light. But I keep seeing this flashes, of something red, and then something gold." She saw Ed's gaze soften.

"I don't know how, but I think my lost memories are also the key for you getting your bodies back. So let's make a deal. I'll help you get your bodies back, and in return you help me find my memories." She smiled, her eyes still fierce with determination, and upon looking in her eyes, Edward's eyes widened in surprise, as Emmi held her hand out.

"Do we have a deal, Edward Elric?"

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading! This is my first fanfiction on here, so I really hope you enjoy it!**

 **This story is about a girl who lost her memories, and goes on a quest with Edward and Alphonse to find her memories, as well as helping them get their bodies back. I'm still trying to figure out who I should have Emmi have a romantic relationship with... I'm leaning towards Greed, but I might also want to do Ling... Idk it's tough lol. I don't want Emmi and Ed to be romantically involved, because their relationship will grow, but not in that way. (I ship EdWin too much lol) I am also going to make hints at Royai during this story (because I will forever be heartbroken and angry that Roy and Riza did not get married at the end of the show like wtf is that really). Anyway, thank you so much for reading and please tell me what you think about it and favorite.**

 **~gogeta75**


	2. Those Who Lurk Underground

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE BOTTOM!**

 **But for now, please sit back and enjoy the story (:**

* * *

Chapter One

The pebbles falling from the ceiling added a hint of anxiety to the room, as a quiet breeze flew through the room, with the scent of the metallic blood painted on the ground.

"I might be an idiot for this… but sure. We have a deal. I have a feeling you won't take no for an answer anyway." Edward spoke, and clasped his metal hand into Emmi's, causing her eyes to sparkle and she grinned even larger. She shook his hand frantically, overpowered by the emotion of happiness.

"Yes yes yes! Woohoo!" She yelled in excitement.

"Hey hey hey! Careful! You're gonna tear my arm off then Winry isn't gonna be happy!" He yelled frantically with a sweat dripping down his face.

"Well, this is fun. But if you don't mind, Emmi, me and the pipsqueak were in the middle of a fight." Greed spat, putting emphasis on her name. She turned her gaze over to Greed, before feeling her hand become squished and a uncomfortable pain shot through her hand. She looked over to Ed, to see that he was squishing her hand in anger.

"What… did you call me?!" Ed screamed out, in complete anger, with stream coming out of his ear and his face turning beat red. He let go of Emmi's hand, before clapping his hands together and making the ground beneath him rise in sharp arrows as he tried to puncture Greed. However, Greed seemed to have healed quickly, and jumped up into the air.

"Looks like you still got some fight in ya, kid. I may still have the body of a human, but apart from my Ultimate Shield and amazing healing powers, you can't beat me. So about we make a deal?" Then Greed grimaced.

"Ohh. I see. You're one of those guys. You don't care if you get the crap beaten out of you but when it comes to a family member, you go berserk." He spat in disgust.

"What a waste. You lose your temper like that and you're going to lose my information and your brother." His eyes narrowed at Ed's and he frowned.

"My brother is fine. He's just waiting for me to kick your ass." Ed spoke, his hand covering his wound. "It's easy since your Ultimate Shield doesn't cover much."

That short moment of glory was short lived when Greed let out a bellowing laugh from his stomach, and grinned.

"Oh please." With a simple raise of his arms, his whole body except his face turned a dark, steel gray. "This obscures my handsome face, so I try not to wear it too much." With that, his face was a dark gray, with red streaks on his face, with his eyes a steel blue.

With that, Greed and Ed sprung forward, both attacking with a lot of force, while switching the roles of offense and defense. Although Ed was putting up a good fight, his stance faltered when Greed picked him up with his real arm and swung him across the room. A loud crack was heard, as Ed's head smacked against the hard wall, and pieces of his automail fell to the ground. Blood poured down his face, as his breathing was heavy and lagged. As Greed made a move to pierce him again, time seemed to slow. As Ed braced himself, a hard clunk was heard, and when he opened his eyes, dark wavy hair was close to his nose, and he couldn't help but smell a hint of lavender. Emmi's body was positioned in front of Edward's, as a dark energy loomed in front of him. She had her arms up in a protective stance, in the shape of an 'X' as a shield of dark energy circulated in front of them.

"Careful, Greed. I can't have you killing my partner." After registering that his Ultimate Shield couldn't pierce into her shield of dark energy, so he took a big leap back.

"Huh? Hey, how'd you do that?" Greed called out to Emmi, but she ignored him and turned around to face Ed. She tucked her arm under his armpit, and lifted him to his feet, to which he stumbled slightly.

"You need to think clearly, Edward." Her dark brown eyes serious, as they gazed into his golden, like the sun. He frowned, probably not too happy about being lectured by someone he just had met. His eyes glimmered in realization.

"Hey, I have a plan. Do you think you can distract him for a bit?" Emmi smirked before nodded and turning to Greed.

"Hey… yeah, no. As a rule of thumb, I don't fight women." Greed spoke nonchalantly, as he shrugged his shoulders. She prepared herself, before launching herself at him. Her hands were wrapped in dark energy, as she swiftly swung at him, to which he dodge every punch.

"Come on! I don't like fighting girls!" He said as he dipped his body down, and swung his leg, in an attempt to make her lose he balance and fall, but she saw it coming and jumped, and spun around his body so that her front was facing his back, as she wrapped her legs around his upper half, then wrapping her arms around his neck and putting him in a headlock. He struggled to move, his cool, dark gray hands grabbing her wrists in a attempt to yank her off, but Emmi stayed stationary while grinning at her successful attempt at a distraction.

"Alright! Whenever you're ready, Edward!" With that signal, rushed footsteps raced across the room. Ed clapped his hands together and pressed them against Greed's stomach, causing him to fly backwards.

Edward was on his knees, his hands ready to clap again when he called out the Emmi.

"Move out of the way!" She unwrapped herself from Greed's upper half, placing both her feet on his shoulders , using them launching pad and jumped off towards Ed. His hands slapped against the ground, and a rumble erupted as sharp rocks pierced through Greed's Ultimate Shield. More blood painted the ground, as Greed yelled in pain.

With heavy breaths, "Huh? How'd you do that?" He panted, as he crushed a rock beside him.

"You probably shouldn't have told me that your body is human. You should know that one-third of the human body is made of carbon. It was easy to figure out that that's what your Ultimate Shield is made out of, and after that it was simple alchemy." Ed smirked, as he wiped the blood off of his chin. Emmi smiled, but frowned when Greed started to laugh again.

"Hahaahhahaahh! That's good, kid! But how long are you gonna last in this fight?" It was quiet for only a moment, until the door burst open. A woman, with dark eyes and black hair with dreadlocks burst into the room, nonchalantly carrying one of Greed's goons with her one hand. Upon seeing Edward, she threw the goon at Ed, making him crash into the wall. Emmi sweatdropped, as Ed scrambled around on the ground before sitting up, sweat clearly dripping down his face nervously.

The woman simply glared at Ed, looking very angry before she started yelling. "You damned imbecile! You think it's funny not to put the broom away? I asked you a question!" She lectured before Ed fumbled with his words.

"No! I'm so sorry!" The woman ignored him and turned to Greed.

"Thanks for your hospitality. He definitely needed the exercise." She said with a slightly bored look, with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Teacher! This guy is a homunculus!" Ed spoke as he rose from the ground, before his teacher quickly stopped him.

"I know, I could hear you all the way down the hall!" She shouted back, irritation laced in her voice. Her eyes then turned to Emmi, who was innocently watching the whole thing.

"And who are you?" The woman spat, causing Emmi to take a swallow her fear.

"I'm Emmi! Uh, ma'am." She stuttered, trying to put on a strong face as the scary woman in front of her stared down at her harshly.

"I'm Izumi. I'm assuming that since the state that this imbecile is in that you stepped in to help, correct?" She motioned to Ed where her head, as Emmi nodded quickly.

"Then you have my gratitude." She said with a softer voice, before Greed's annoyed sighed echoed through the room.

"Uh don't tell me… You're going to fight me too? It's no fun fighting a lady." Greed turned his head away for only a second, which was probably a mistake since when his head turned in front of him, Izumi's hand was covering it, and a flash of blue static danced across Greed's face. Izumi yelled out a mighty cry, and swung her leg up to his head, sending him flying to the wall, with Greed screaming in pain. Half of his face had been skinned off, and he sank to the ground before laughing again.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Well now, just what the hell are you?!" He yelled smugly, with that menacing grin of his face. Izumi took a couple steps towards him, before placing her hands at her hips, and grinning, almost as big as Greed.

"A housewife!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Greed's rumbling laughter surfaced again, at the fact that Izumi and Ed were stanched in front of him, ready to fight at any time. Emmi stood to their side, watching the events unfold with a intriguing look in her eyes.

"A housewife and a hot-headed brat! And a girl with magic powers! What a team! Though to be honest, it's not a particular team I feel like fighting." He said as he slightly lowered his body in a cautious stance. His voice lowered, a unreadable expression on his face. "I'll just be on my way now."

Ed quickly retorted. "What?" Before Izumi spoke with him, "You coward!" She spat, gritting her teeth.

Emmi sighed with a bored expression on her face. "How disappointing." She spoke quietly, before a heaving sound echoed throughout the room. Emmi turned to see Izumi, with blood pouring out of her mouth, and Ed's sudden concerned screaming. Greed saw this opportunity and used it as a chance to escape, dashing out of the door.

"Teacher! What's wrong?!" Ed yelled concernedly, as he was by her side, supporting her weight. She ignored him, before muttering about how he had gotten away. Her gaze turned to Emmi, with angry and determined eyes, she spoke.

"You! Go after him! Ed and I will catch up!" She ordered, obviously not in the mood to dabble.

"Uh, y-yes ma'am!" Emmi yelled before dashing out of the door, and heading down the hallway she hoped Greed went down. She made her way down into what looked like a sewer, with a horrendous smell, and murky greenish water flowing the opposite direction of her. She stopped to take a breath, before becoming silent. The only sound in the sewer was the water, splashing against the cement wall.

For the love of god… please don't tell me I'm lost! Emmi helplessly thought, before shivering and continued heading straight. She was hovering the air, manipulating the energy around her as she jumped and let out a yelp at every creak and sound that the sewer had to offer.

I hate it here… Why does it have to be so dark and creepy? No, calm down Emmi. You're just gonna go after Greed, and hopefully he won't pop out of the shadows. I hate jump scares!

After a few minutes of aimlessly walking, in the distance she heard splashes of water, and mutterings. Yes! People! Thank god I won't be alone anymore!

With that little motivation, she flew towards the direction of the noises. She eventually heard Alphonse, with a couple of screams, to which she flew faster. She could also hear a faint clanking, like metal clashing against something. She found herself at a corner, and before she could turn it, she got the heavy scent of blood. It's disgusting, metallic smell that made her nauseous. She got this weird feeling, like the one she felt when she first entered the Devil's Nest.

She must've swallowed her fear and got the courage to turn the corner, and she did saw Alphonse, slumped against the wall with blood oozing out of his armor. She quickly flew to him, noticing that the glowing pink hues he had in his eyes were now black, consumed by darkness. She turned her head, and had to hold in her nausea as her eyes landed upon the cut up bodies in the water, dark red tainting the water, making it an oozing brown color. She could barely recognize that they were two of Greed's goons. She shook her head, getting rid of those horrible thoughts as she turned her attention to Al.

"Hey! Alphonse! Are you okay?" She gently knocked on the armor, creating an echo that bounce in between the walls of the sewer. With no answer, she presumed that he was unconscious, which was strange. She had to see what was pouring so much blood out of his body, and when she moved to remove Alphonse's helmet, that same metallic smell hit her in the face like a brick. She had to turn away, just so that she could get a bit of air. She grimaced, and felt a cold sweat bead up on her forehead. She could barely see the tattoos, but sure enough they were there.

So it was the lady that went into his body. Poor Alphonse. She thought sadly to herself. She placed Al's helmet down on the ground. I should probably remove her body from his; I know for a fact I would not want to wake up with a dead body inside of me.

She put both her arms into Alphonse's body, trying to pull the lady up. She grimaced, and held her nausea in as she felt the warm blood practically soak in her arms. Once she got ahold of her body, she lifted slowly, but before she could pull the body up, Emmi noticed the seal inside of Al's armor. It was small, and had been drawn by blood. She slumped, and carefully placed the body down.

I can't pull it up this way, I might accidentally wipe the seal off. What should I do?

Her hands were now soaked in blood, and she furrowed her brows before hearing rushed footsteps. It was more than one person, and before she knew it, it was Ed and Izumi, with a couple of men in blue suits, pointing their guns at Emmi.

"Emmi! What happened here?!" Ed questioned, running up to her, clearly concerned about seeing the state that his brother was in.

"Your brother is unconscious, I think. And… there's a dead body inside of him." She lifted her bloody hands to Ed, whose eyes widened in shock. "I thought I should get the body out before he woke up, but…" She paused, looking up at the line of men staring at her. She dropped her voice, so only Ed could really hear her. "I didn't want to mess up the seal." Ed's voice hitched, and he spared a quick glance behind him, before waving his hand at the soldiers behind him.

"Quit pointing those at us, will ya?" The soldiers seem to hesitate, before lowering their guns just slightly, still keeping their guard up. Ed turned back to Emmi, before speaking.

"We'll have to take his chest piece out and get the body that way. Here, I can do it." Emmi nodded.

"Okay, you take the chest piece off and I'll grab the body." Ed nodded back before yanking off the chest piece, and Emmi took deep breath before grabbing the body.

"I'm sorry, snake lady." She reached up and grabbed the body, almost not recognizing her with all the blood. She was clearly not breathing, and the warmth was slowly leaving her body. She placed the body on the ground next to her, and saw that she had a sad, defeated expression on her face. Emmi had to force herself to turn away, and looked down at her hands. They were soaked in blood, going up to her elbow, and had a bit of it on her lavender tank top and her jeans shorts. She used the black and white flannel tied around her waist as a rag and wiped her hands off of it. She didn't get it all off, but she got most of it off that it was drenching her hands.

She stood, with Ed rising as well next to her. "Thanks." She raised her eyes to meet Ed's, who eyes were still trained on his brother. "I appreciate you helping me and Al. Really." His voice was quiet, a sad and yet frustrated look on his face. Emmi smiled.

"Of course. We're partners now, aren't we?" Ed lifted his head, and turned to meet her eyes. Ed smiled, not too big, but kindly.

"Yeah. Partners."

* * *

 **I think it's funny that Emmi has a fear of being alone in dark and creepy places lol. Before I forget, lemme tell you about Emmi's character, because I'm sure you're a bit confused** **:**

 ***Her outfit is a lavender long sleeved shirt, with a black and white flannel tied around her waist, and dark blue jean shorts (not too short, of course) with short brown combat boots. She has dark brown hair (it almost looks black, but just a very dark brown), which is thick, and wavy (think of beach waves) in a high ponytail, with a skinny braid tied with a gold loop at the end that lays on her shoulders. She has chocolatey, caramel skin, with dark brown eyes (same color as her hair), and a scar under her right eye.**

 ***She doesn't know where she came from and who exactly she is, but she only remembers her first name, not her last.**

 ***Her ability to is much like that of Alkahestry. Alkahestry (Dragon's Pulse) bases their abilities in the flow of energy and chi, from the mountain tops to rivers to trees, basically Earth. Since alkahestry basically uses life energy to connect flow of chi throughout the body for medical uses. Emmi, however, uses that ability of using the life energy, and manipulates it, and basically makes it do whatever she wants. She can use it to lift things or people off the ground, she can harden the energy into a shield or hardens it around her body to do more damage. (punching, kicking, etc.) She also uses it to fly (only because I really wanted her to be able to fly idk) or jump very high in the air, because she manipulates the energy under her to hover over the ground. (She will be flying/hovering over the ground a lot in the duration of this story) I also decided to call it "dark energy" because when she uses it in combat or for shielding herself or her friends, you can see it. (For example, if she uses it to wrap around her hands for punching, imagine a dark, hazy shadow engulfing her hands. Another example would be if she was shielding somebody or herself, imagine a dark wall of hazy, black shadows surrounding whatever she is protecting.) I hope I made sense with that lol :P And I hope how she fights doesn't sound silly either, I just didn't want her to be a alchemist, for some reason lol.**

 ***She mostly just hovers over the ground, but doesn't do it when there is a lot of people around or around people she doesn't trust. I'd also like to add to the effect that she only really flies when she is scared or uncomfortable, so that if something goes wrong she can make a quick escape, if necessary. Oh and don't worry, she won't be flying high in the sky, like Superman lol.**

 ***However, _how_ she learned about these powers and knows how to use them, is a mystery (for now, at least ;P We'll get more into it later, I promise). For all she knows, she just assumed that she learned somehow and somewhere, but she has memory loss, and doesn't remember a thing. **

***I promiiiseee youuuuu, that this is not a Edward x OC story, even though it might seem like it right now lol. I'm still tryna figure out if I should make it a Greedling x OC, or a Ling x OC... I'm not totally sure yet. Ed simply knows that he can trust Emmi, even though they have just met. Emmi is a pretty outgoing character, who has the same beliefs and ideas as Ed and Alphonse (they won't kill anyone, they believe everyone should be treated equal, etc.) Because Ed and Al are now her partners, she will protect them, so that they can both fulfill their parts of the deal. Emmi is also very observant, and can tell what people are feeling, just by a look at their faces and body movements. She is also very aware of her surroundings, which will come to help the Elric brothers throughout their journey (because we all know how clumsy and loud Ed and Al can be lol) She is also very caring, and we see that when she offered to remove Martel's body from Al's armor so that he wouldn't wake up with a decaying body in his armor, and that was when Ed realized he could trust her.**

 ***Next chapter will introduce Ling, Lan Fan, and Old Man Fu, along with Winry. I'm so excited to post that, I'm literally having so much writing this story hehehe!**

 ***Thank you for reading all of this, I know it was a lot, but I wanted to make some things clear. And with that, I hope you have a great day and look forward to the next chapter!**

 ***Quick Disclaimer: _I do not own any of the Fullmetal Alchemist characters or story, I only own Emmi._**


	3. Envoy From The East

"Al! Wake up! Say something! Al!" Edward's voice pierced Al, as he woke in a sudden gasp. The dark hollows of his eyes were filled with that glowing pink light, and Emmi knew he was awake again.

"Brother." Alphonse answered in a panic, and seemed to be startled at where he was.

"Are you okay?" Ed spoke, his voice heavy with concern as Alphonse repeated the question back to him.

"Ed, you're covered in blood!" Edward gaze looked down at the ground, and Alphonse eyes followed his until he let out a gasp, seeing a pool of blood beneath where he sat, as well as a trail that led to Martel's dead body, which was covered in a white blanket. The extremely large and muscular mustache man that Emmi had been introduced to was Alex Louis Armstrong spoke up.

"Miss Emmi here thought it would be best to remove the body before you had awoken." He said as he lowered himself down to Alphonse, talking in a soothing voice.

"Emmi?" He questioned, before Emmi, who was standing a couple of feet behind Edward, walked up to Alphonse and lowered herself to his height.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay. I was starting to get worried that my new partner wasn't going to wake up." She said with what she hoped was a comforting smile.

"Partner? Oh no, you're covered in blood too!" He motioned to her blood stained clothes, to which she shrugged off to keep Al from getting down. Alphonse looked down at himself, seeing himself soaked in blood before shaking, and putting his hands up to cover his face.

"I… I couldn't save her!" His breath was shaky and hesitant, like what it sounded like when you were about to cry, before Edward in a painful voice spoke as well.

"You can't blame yourself, Al. Come on! Let's get going, kay?" He gave Al a sad, but reassuring smile, ones that older siblings gave their younger ones to let them know everything was going to be okay. Emmi couldn't help but smile at that. She lifted herself off the ground, standing on her feet. Alphonse only stood in his same position, still slightly shaking.

"Hold it, you two." Emmi turned her gaze to a older man, who had dark hair with a few messy pieces falling on his forehead, and a dark mustache surrounding his mouth. He walked towards them with his arms around his back, and his visible eye closed. His other eye was covered with a black eyepatch. His voice was deep, and intimidating and gave Emmi a chill. She suddenly got a very bad feeling about the man in front of them.

"There are a few questions I'd like to ask before you go. Have either of you had any previous dealing with the man known as Greed?" He stopped in front of Edward, as Emmi watched cautiously on Ed's right side.

Ed shook his head with his eyebrows furrowed. "Course' not."

"Did you share any manner of information with him?" Ed gaze shifted to the side for only a second as he frowned.

"None at all. The military wasn't even mentioned."

"That isn't my concern. Let me be more specific. If you arranged a deal or shared any knowledge of him…" His voice seemed to drop an octave, as it turned darker. "...Then I'll execute you both right now." His gaze shifted, and he opened his uncovered eye. It was a piercing blue mixed with green, like an emerald.

Upon the sudden threat, Emmi quickly moved in front of Edward, with a dark glare piercing the man's sky blue one. "Back off! I don't appreciate you threatening people." Ed and Al gasped, honestly surprised that she placed myself in front of them. About ten guns were suddenly trained on her, watching her carefully as she challenged the man in front of her.

"Emmi!" Ed and Alex warned, but was cut off when the older man spoke.

"Oh? And who might you be?" He didn't seem to move; he still had his hands around his back, comfortably standing there.

"I'm their partner." Her voice laced with venom.

"Is that right? And what exactly are you partners for?" Her frown deepened, glaring even harder (if that was possible).

"That's none of your concern. They didn't share any information about the military or anything else. So back off!" There was a harsh silence in the hallway they were standing in, as Emmi glared hard at the man before her and he seemed to do the same. After moments of awkward silence, the older man in front of her took three steps forward. Emmi braced herself to prepare for a fight. Before she could move, a large hand moved and placed itself on her hand, as it moved to ruffle her hair gently. The man before her started laughing, an innocent one, before closing his eyes and smiling.

"Ha ha ha ha! It's good to see the Elrics have made some good friends willing to protect them! You Elrics better take care of this young girl!" He laughed playful while ruffling Emmi's hair. She was completely dumbfounded, watching as the man who had such a harsh glare and who was ready to kill her partners just a minute ago was laughing and playing with her hair. It creeped her out, to be honest. Edward and Al seemed to be in the same state as her, sweating profusely at the act of the man in front of them. He let go over her hair and turned around, signaling his men to lower their guns.

"Uh… Can we go now, sir?" Edward spoke, still a little dazed at the events that unfolded in front of him as he walked forward a couple of steps.

"I am curious about your metal arm and leg and your brother's armored body, however. Is there any connection between the two?" He spoke, with his back still turned to them. Ed and Al gasped, before sharing a quick glance at each other. The man glanced behind him for only a second, before laughing once again and turning back around. "You two really are honest kids. Alright men, let's move out!" He signal to his men, and they all shared a simultaneous "Yes, sir!"

"And young lady, you make sure to take care of your partners!" He called out to Emmi, as he walked down the hallway with his men following him, minus Alex. The three of them stared after him before Emmi put her hands behind her head and stretched.

"What a intimidating and scary man. Who the hell was he, anyway?" She muttered loudly.

"You mean, you don't know who that is?" Alex spoke confused, his deep voice rumbling from his belly. Emmi shook her head innocently as Edward frowned, an angry vein visible on his forehead.

"THAT WAS FUHRER KING BRADLEY, YOU IDIOT!" He shouted as he gave her a hard smack on the top of her head, causing Emmi to yell out a brief, "Ow!"

"W-what exactly does he do?" Emmi questioned hesitantly, still gripping her head in pain. Ed grimaced, another annoyed look surfaced on his face.

"HE'S THE LEADER OF THIS COUNTRY, YOU IMBECILE!"

"Oooh… That would totally explain all of the soldiers with him, and how they pointed their guns at me when I got in his face. Ha ha ha ha!" Emmi nervously chuckled before another hard smack was landed upon her head.

"Owww…" Emmi groaned as Edward turned back to Alphonse.

"Uh, brother? Who exactly is she?" Alphonse spoke as he pointed his large hand at the girl who was currently clutching her head in pain. Ed sighed tiredly, as he looked over his shoulder at Emmi.

"Apparently she's our "partner". She's gonna help us get our bodies back if we help her recover her memories."

"Don't say 'apparently', we are partners you know!" Emmi said with a slight glare and pout to Ed, before turning to Al with a small smile on her face.

"It's nice to officially meet you, Alphonse Elric! I'm your new partner, Emmi!" She held her hand out with a grin plastered on her face. Al's armor clanked as he raised his body up a little, before raising his right hand up and grasped hers.

"Uh, it's n-nice to meet you too!"

Emmi beamed, shaking his hand frantically much like how she did with Ed's.

"Come on, guys. Let's go." Edward spoke quietly, with Emmi and his brother nodding with him.

* * *

It was nighttime, and they found themselves in an alley by the side of Izumi's meat shop, cleaning and polishing Al's armor from the blood. Emmi cleaned the insides of his armor, being as careful as possible not to ruin the seal, as Ed cleaned the big chest piece. Emmi was finally able to wash off the dried blood on her, and take a shower as Izumi was kind enough to lend her some fresh clothes for the time being as hers were being washed. Al sat on the side, on the top of a small flight of stairs that led into the shop, watching as Ed and Emmi took the liberty to clean his armor. Alexander Armstrong was there too, as he was to accompany Fuhrer Bradley, who was inside talking to Izumi. It was quiet, the sounds of crickets chirping as the night air was fresh, with the stars twinkling in the sky.

It was Ed, who broke the silent peace. "There's something I forgot to mention, Armstrong." The muscular man shifted. "Greed had an ouroborus tattoo." Ed spoke, still wiping Ed's armor.

"I'm not sure I follow." Alex responded. Ed turned his gaze upon him.

"Think back. The Fifth Laboratory? The Philosopher's Stone?" Then suddenly, Emmi stopped wiping Al's armor. She froze, those two names causing her to halt completely. It was like ice, making a cold shiver shoot up her spine before she took a breath that she was subconsciously holding. Al seemed to notice something shift in her demeanor, but before he could say something to her, Ed continued speaking.

"Remember the guys I told you and Colonel Hues about?" He asked, before turning back to Al's armor and wiping again, making sure it was completely clean. Emmi took a deep breath, and calmed herself down before wiping again, ignoring that her heartbeat had quickened just slightly.

"C-colonel Hughes…? I…" Armstrong hesitated, before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes to compose himself. He suddenly bent down to Edward's level and grabbing ahold of his shoulders tightly. Emmi turned and watched as Alex spoke in a voice so serious, she suddenly felt nervous.

"Listen, Edward Elric. Do not.. do anything rash." His bright blue eyes pierced Ed's golden ones, which were wide in confusion. "S-sure." With that answer, Alex stood, and walked away.

"Well then. Goodnight." With that, he turned the corner and he was gone. Emmi furrowed her brows before standing.

"What was that about? Oh well. Al, I'm all finished. You're good as new!" She smiled at him, even though he was still about the same height as her even if he was sitting down.

"Thanks Emmi." His armor clanked as he craned his neck up to her, before looking down to Ed.

"Brother. They're back." He said calmly. "All the memories of when my body was taken away? I remember." Ed's eyes widen and his breath hitched, before leaning forward and speaking.

"What'd you see?" His voice very curious, and all Emmi could do was stand there confused at to what the hell they were talking about.

"Hm… Well it was definitely weird." He said as he sweatdropped (if that was even possible for him). "But unfortunately, I didn't find out anything about how to get our bodies back." Ed smiled.

"That's okay." He said as he placed the rag he was using to clean into the bucket of water and standing.

Alphonse picked up the chest piece and stuck it in its place, and latched it together with the leather tugs. "I guess we haven't made any progress."

"No, that's not entirely true. Remember what the Fuhrer told us back in Central? About the unrest of the ranks in the military? "

"Mmhm. And it all had something to do with the Philosopher's Stone and those ouroborus guys." Emmi's breath hitched. Her heart pounded slightly. "He said he was trying to gather info on them." Ed turned around, with his eyes closed and his hand in his pocket, while the other one carried the bucket.

"Greed was obviously connected to them somehow. But if so, why'd the Fuhrer slaughter everyone? If he was trying to figure out what they're up to, why didn't he catch them and make them talk?" Edward pondered to himself, with Al backing up his claim.

"Yeah, good point. It seems a little weird that the Fuhrer himself would lead an attack on such a small group."

"Sure does. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't add up." Ed responded.

"It almost sounds like he killed them _because_ they knew something. Maybe they knew something the Fuhrer didn't want them to?" Emmi pondered aloud, as the Elric brothers gaze turned to her.

"We've been warned. But we need to get closer." Ed's voice serious. There was an awkward silence between the three of them, before Ed's voice broke the heavy silence.

"Hey Emmi, that reminds me." Emmi turned to Ed, with her head tilted slightly to the side before humming to acknowledge that she was listening. "Back when we were fighting Greed. You shielded yourself in front of me, but you didn't just use your arms. It was like... there was this black smoke. What was that?"

Emmi frowned, locking her hands in front of her like a cage, biting her lip, carefully deciding how to word what she was going to say.

"Well, you see… I don't know… exactly how I learned how to fight like this or where, but it's something like this." She took a breath, calming her heart as she spoke quietly, with her eyes trained on the ground.

"The only conclusion I can come up with is that I can somehow… manipulate energy." She heard Alphonse's armor shifted, and she knew he was looking at her.

"Manipulate energy? What do you mean?" She glanced up at him for a bit before looking up to the sky. Her eyes sparkled as she looked upon the billions upon billions of stars and constellations in the sky.

"The world around us is full of life. And with life, comes energy. We see it with trees, grass, plants, crops; basically everything around us. Even the Earth itself is just a big ball of energy. I believe that I take that energy, and I can manipulate it to do what I want it to do." She paused for a minute, before bending down and picking up at rock from the ground about the size of her palm and holding it out for the Elric brothers to see.

"We humans don't realize it, but we are actually being suffocated by all the energy and life that flows in the air." Her eyes focused on the small rock, as it begun to shake and it soon lifted in the air, with a black hue right beneath it. Ed and Al gasped in shock, as Emmi urged the rock over to Ed, and when it was hovering over his hand, she let it fall, with it softly bouncing on the pads of muscle of his hand.

"So you can somehow… harden the energy from the Earth and turn it into a shield, or wrap it around your hands like what you did when you attacked Greed?" Ed spoke, baffled. Emmi nodded.

"Amazing…!" Alphonse spoke after a couple seconds of silence between the two of them.

"I can also use the energy from the ground to lift me up, or jump high." Emmi spoke in a blank tone, simply informing the brothers of what she could do, not sounding arrogant.

"You mean you can fly?!" Edward sputtered out loudly, blabbling to himself."

"If I concentrated very hard, I'm sure I could. But for right now, the only thing I can really do is jump higher than average or hover over the ground." Emmi shrugged, with a small, yet doubtful smile on her face.

"Amazing…!" Al repeated, who seemed to be shocked yet amazed.

"It turns dark, however. Which is still a mystery to me. If only I had my memories, then maybe I could remember more about this ability I have." Emmi said, her voice turning sour with disappointment. There was an awkward silence between the three of them, before she shook it off and a happy smile was plastered on her face.

"I'm not worried, though! With your help, I'm definitely gonna get my memories back and with that, you two will get your bodies back!" Al sighed happily, and she could practically hear his smile in the air, even though she couldn't see it. She smiled back.

"Hey. Emmi." Edward's voice perked, and suddenly he was next to her, tugging on the skinny braid in her hair tightly, which caused pain to the lower part of her head. She winced, as her head would tug downwards when Ed would pull on the braid.

"How do we know for sure that your memories are going to help us?" His voice was laced with slight annoyance, continuing to tug her small braid.

"O-ow! Because.. The Fifth Laboratory.. Ow! And the Philosopher's… Ow! Stone, sound really familiar. Ouch!" She managed to get Edward to halt, as she yanked her head away and rubbed the now sore part of her head.

"Really? You remember something?!" Ed and Al yelled at the same time, startling her slightly. She gave them a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Not specifically _remembered_ something, per se, more like I get these weird flashes. For example, when you mentioned the Fifth Laboratory, I got this weird… vision. I saw flashes of red, with this weird piercing sound in the air, suffocating me. Then with that, it's gone, like it was never there to begin with."

"Flash of red? Brother.. do you think-?!" Alphonse started and Ed finished. "Do you know anything about a Philosopher's Stone?!" Ed practically yelled in her ear, eyes wide with determination. She scanned his, and looked over to Al, noting that they were both very serious.

"Nothing concrete. All I get are these flashes." Emmi said, voice laced in dissatisfaction at not having a good answer for the brothers. Ed and Al both sighed.

"Well, not much we can do about it at this point. Let's get some rest today and we'll head out tomorrow." Edward instructed, before slowly walking to the door. Emmi stretched her arms, and smiled tiredly.

"You're right. Hey Ed! I'm gonna take your place on the couch, so goodnight!" She said before dashing into the house, laughing before she could hear Ed's disapproving voice echo behind her.

"HEY WAIT! EMMI! YOU GET BACK HERE!"

"Goodnight, Alphonse!" Emmi called out to the armored boy within the house.

"U-uh.. Goodnight, Emmi!" He called back.

"DAMMIT, EMMI! GET OFF OF MY COUCH!"

* * *

With Izumi's kindness, Emmi was back in her regular clothes and with a curt goodbye, the trio set off. The next day, they found themselves in the bright town of Rush Valley, with automail shops everywhere. The town was booming, people happy and running around, while the shopkeepers fixed their customers automail. The sun was bright and high in the sky, with fluffy white clouds lying in the sky. They came to Rush Valley because Ed said that he needed to get his automail fixed.

As the trio walked down the street, Emmi stretched her sore back from having to sleep on the floor, since Ed had rudely kicked her off the couch (literally). She smiled, and felt refreshed as she gazed in awe of everything. She had never seen a town like this before, and seeing everyone so happy made her happy.

They came to a shop called "Atelier Garfiel", where a couple of customers where in the shop, looking around. Emmi them saw a girl, who looked about her age, with long blonde hair that spilled down her back, with a green bandana tied around her head while wearing a black sports bra and gray pants as she carried a box with rags in it.

Ed voice sounded playful, as he greeted the girl with a bright, yet very nervous smile.

"Helllooo there, Winry!~" He sang with a nervous smile, as Emmi could see the sweat bead up on his forehead. "You look like you're in a very generous mood today!"

The girl named Winry, with her eyes a deeper shade of blue, almost giving off a purplish hue, smiled at Ed and Al. "Hi Ed! Hi Al! What are you doing showing up like this?" Her smile happy and surprised, before Ed showed her his ruined automail, with a still nervous smile. There was an awkward silence, as Winry's smile stayed on her face. Emmi watched as her eyebrow twitched in anger, and her happy face was distorted into anger.

She responded with a loud smack from a wrench that was head upon Ed's skull.

After a couple of moments, Ed was lying down on a table, as Winry took some tape and began wrapping it around Ed's arm, with Emmi and Al standing next to each other, sweating.

"Even Paninya is taking up an honest job and you two can't seem to stay out of trouble." She grumbled. Emmi couldn't help but laugh, a happy one.

"What… are you.. laughing about?" Ed managed to croak out, still in pain before Winry turned to meet Emmi's eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry! I was too busy dealing with these idiots that I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Winry Rockbell, Ed's mechanic!" Winry introduced with a proud smile of her face that Emmi couldn't help but smile even bigger.

"I'm Emmi! Ed and Al's partner!" They shook each other's hand, before Winry tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Partner?"

"Yup! I'm gonna help them get their bodies back! And in turn, they're gonna help get my memories back!" Emmi smiled even bigger, to which only confused Winry a bit more, before Ed's voice made them both turn.

"Hey… Can we focus on getting Winry to fix my arm now?" The requested ended in another wrench colliding with Ed's head, with Al's sudden gasp in concern.

"Can't you two just stay out of trouble?" Winry grumbled, as she turned and continued to fix Ed's arm. Emmi heard Al's body shift, as he sat up a little taller.

"Wait, Paninya doesn't steal anymore?" Alphonse questioned, causing Winry to turn and face him.

"Yeah. She's giving up her former life as a pickpocket and now she earns her money by fixing roofs and doing other odd jobs around town." She said before turning back to Ed, glaring at him and then turning to Al.

"And what about the two of you, huh? Made any progress yet?" Which caused Ed to shift his body slightly and Al to let out a startled gasp.

"Yeah we have! It's slowly going though, and now with Emmi on our side, we're sure that we'll get them back soon!" Al proclaimed, as Ed sat up quickly and sighed.

"We're still moving ahead, little by little, I guess." Winry's glare turned into something more stern, like a mother scolding her child, and said, "Good. Glad to hear it."

She then proceeded to say that they would have some time to kill as she needed to gather more parts for Ed's arm. The trio walked out of her shop, now needing to find something to do in the time being. As the walked down the road, Emmi's stomach grumbled loudly, indicating that she needed food. Her demeanor slumped, as she held her stomach with both hands.

"Ed… I'm hungry." She complained quietly, as Ed keep walking forward.

"Quit complaining. We'll get food later." With that he keep marching forward. Emmi slowed to a stop, and turned to the right, where Alphonse was originally walking beside her. It took her only a couple of seconds before finding him, crouched down in a alley. She tiredly made her way towards him.

"Al.. Your brother is being rude… Make him buy us some food, pleaseee…" She quietly begged, as Alphonse still had his back towards her. She tilted her head to the side in confusion, before Al's voice perked up.

"Uh...Emmi?" He said, as he turned his head towards her.

"Hm? What is it?" Alphonse suddenly held up a body; a boy about her age as well, wearing a yellow jacket, with his chest showing and light tan pants. He had long black hair, tied into a ponytail with messy bangs on the right side of his face. Emmi yelped back, landing on her butt.

"A-Alphonse! Y-you put him back where you found him!" She yelled as she shakily pointed towards the boy.

"I can't just leave him here! What if he dies?!" Alphonse retorted back, shoving the body closer to Emmi. She yelped again and crawled backwards, before her hand landed on a dark boot, and looked up to see Ed, who was towering over her, glaring down at her.

"What are you guys doing?" She shakily pointed towards Al, who was still holding the boy towards her. Ed took a sip of his drink he had been holding, before looking up at Al. He did a spit take, before looking completely shocked that Al had been holding a body.

* * *

"Woohoo! I feel so much better! You guys are life savers! Thanks a lot!" The boy who was unconscious awhile ago spoke, who had just eaten piles upon piles of food, with plates and bowls stacked against each other. Emmi, who was sitting to the right of him, was still gobbling up some food from her order.

"Yeuh! Shanks a lot, Edwurd!" Emmi spoke, with her mouth still full of food." The boy grinned at Ed, before putting his hand up in a thankful gesture.

"Your treat, right?" Ed glared, with sweat dripping on his forehead.

"When did I say I was paying?" He questioned with a straight tone, still glaring at the two of them.

"Let's not quiver over something so small!" The boy waved before laughing, as Ed bursted in anger over being called, small. The dark haired boy suddenly got teary-eyed, as he turned his gaze away from Ed.

"How lucky I am to have found such hospitality…! So far from home!" He suddenly brought up a tissue to wipe his glistening eyes.

"Far from home? You mean you're not from here?" Alphonse questioned, who was sitting politely next to Ed (who was still steaming by the way).

"That's right! I came from Xing." He spoke, with a steady smile on his face. Ed seemed to cool down as he was suddenly curious.

"Oh, Xing? That's...the country to the east of the desert?!" Ed gasped, before the boy nonchalantly answered.

"Yeah! And crossing that desert was rough, let me tell you." He spoke shakily.

"Why in the world would you take that route?" Alphonse questioned, amazed yet shocked that someone would actually such a dangerous thing.

"I wanted to visit the Ruins of Xerxes. That route goes by them." Ed stared at him from a bit before speaking again.

"Xerxes Ruins? I heard there's next to nothing out there." Ed inquired, before he continued.

"I wanted to see for myself. Anyway I was headed here to do some alkahestry research."

"Alkahestry?" Ed asked.

"I think it's what this country calls alchemy. In Xing, it's known as alkahestry. It's mainly used in the medical professions."

Ed sighed curiously. "Hm. Different countries, different customs, I guess. Here, alchemy is used many military. It's not hard to see why. Even now we still have scrimmages at the border of Aerugo to the south, Creta to the west. North of us is the huge country, Drachma. We have a tentative non-aggression pact with them, with the Briggs mountains standing between us, making invasion difficult. Our relationship is still dicey, at best." Emmi listened carefully, as she finished the last bit of her food, before an older lady came and picked up all their plates and bowls. She placed her arms on the table, before resting her head on top of them, tilted slightly to the right.

"Sounds like you guys got your hands full alright." He spoke, propping his head up on the table with his elbow, his head tilted as it rested in his hand.

"Yeah. Things began to move more towards the militaristic, with the current Fuhrer, King Bradley first came into power." Al's body clinked as he moved his head to the side, looking at Edward.

"I have to say, I'm curious about alkahestry. A branch of alchemy that's medically specialized?" Ed smiled as he looked up to his brother.

"I'm curious too!" The boy looked between the both of them, before speaking.

"By any chance… are you the two of you guys alchemists?"

"Oh yeah, we are actually! I'm Edward Elric, a state alchemist."

"And I'm his younger brother, Alphonse Elric. And this is our partner, Emmi. It's nice to meet you!" Emmi sat up straight with a big smile on her face.

"My name's Ling Yao. It's a pleasure." He said before they all put their hands together into a single handshake. Ed had a kind smile on his face.

"So Ling! What else can you tell us about alkahestry? We'd sure love to learn more!" Ed spoke, before slumping to the ground as Ling spoke and said he knew nothing of alkahestry. Ling smiled and tossed his arms together. Emmi, still smiling, trying to contain her laughter, placed her arms back on the table and rested her hand against them as Ed got into Ling's face.

"If you don't practice alkahestry, why come all the way out here to research it?" Ed croaked out, visible sweat beading on his forehead.

"Well, see, I'm looking for something." He placed his elbow back on the table and rest his head against his knuckles, before frowning and suddenly, his voice seemed to drop an octave.

"It's possible you guys have heard of it before. The Philosopher's Stone." His eyes peeked open, to see a dark, dark blue color, almost black. Emmi's eyes opened by a fraction, as her breath hitched upon that name. "I'm very eager to find it. Do you know anything about it?" Ed and Al seemed to have the same reaction, as they both grow stiff, frowning. Emmi sat up straight slowly, the smile that was previously on her face gone, as she glanced towards Ed and Al. They spared her a quick glance, before Ed's slight shock turned into a glare, before he looked away from Ling's gaze.

"No. We can't help you." Ed didn't spare Ling another glance, getting out of his seat and started to walk away. Emmi watched as Ling smirked, and in a menacing voice, he spoke.

"You wouldn't be lying to me, now would you?" With that, he snapped his fingers, and a man with dark clothes and a red and white masked held a kunai to Ed's neck. There was another man as well, who had spiky gray hair and a gray mustache in dark clothes with a black and white mask, holding a sword into Al's armor. Emmi cautiously yet quickly stood, before they was a sword by her throat as well. She looked down to see Ling, smirking towards her, with his sword held against her neck as he sat in the same spot. She furrowed her brows and felt sweat bead up on her forehead.

"So do you have something to tell me?" Ling said with a smile on his face, his gaze now facing Ed's. Ed still didn't look at him before speaking.

"Why the sudden interest in the Philosopher's Stone?" Ling's smirk turned into a wide, toothy grin as his bangs created a shadow that was hard to see his eyes.

"I want to achieve… immortality."

With that he stood, still holding the sword to Emmi's throat as Ed looked off to the side.

"Immortality? Please. Whatta bunch of nonsense."

"Not to me, it isn't." Ling disagreed, while putting a hand on his hip. Ed closed his eyes, before sighed and raising his head a bit.

"In any way, I don't appreciate your way of asking questions. Kinda rude, don't you think?" He spoke as he put his metal hand between the kunai and his neck. Swiftly, with his other hand, he went to swing at the man by his side. However, the man saw this coming, and jumped into the air, before sticking his leg out and slamming down on Ed's arm, causing Ed to yell out in pain.

"Brother!" Alphonse yelled concerningly, as he grabbed the sword that was stationary between his arm with both hands.

"So you're going to fight us too?" The man said as he jumped back, letting go of his sword.

"Hey, hold on!" Al pleaded, as the man charged towards him, grabbing onto Al's arm and using it as a board to spring up and kick Al in the face, causing him to tumble backwards and land on the ground next to Ed.

"Al! Ed!" Emmi yelled, before hearing the shift of the sword still by her throat.

"Ah ah ah. Let's just watch for now, hm?" Ling taunted, seeing as how Emmi was ready to move in to fight. She glared at Ling, who grinned at her. She couldn't hear what Al and Ed said as they lay on the ground next to each other, but they got up swiftly as Ling's men ran quickly towards them, and with a flashes of blue electricity and dust in the air, the fight was on. As the dust cleared, Ed and Al were gone, fighting throughout the town.

"Ha ha ha ha! Off they go!" He laughed as he lowered his sword from Emmi's neck and placed it back in its sheath. He turned to Emmi and grinned again, as she looked shocked back at him.

"Let's get some dessert, what do you say?" Before waiting for her answer, he turned to the older man who ran the restaurant.

"Hey Pops! Let's add some dessert to my tab!"

* * *

As Emmi watched Ling gobble up dishes of dessert, she couldn't help but worry about how Ed and Al were doing. With Ed's automail about to shatter to pieces, he would be pretty ineffective in a fight. She hadn't seen Al fight before, so she was unaware if he could hold up well in a fight or not, but assuming if he fought like Ed did, he should have a good chance.

"Whaf? You're not gonna eaf?" Ling spoke to her, knocking her out of her trance. Emmi furrowed her brows and shook her head, still not sure if she could trust this guy, and she was still full from the food she had eaten earlier. The constant rumbles and quacks and crashes echoed through the town of Rush Valley, causing the plates to wobble and shake.

When Ling finished, he seemed satisfied with a pleasant smile on his face. "Alright! That was delicious! Now let's go see how the fight is going." He said happily as he stood from the table, and walked the way the most recent quake was heard. Emmi walked a little ways behind him, still a little iffy about the guy who just had his sword as her throat. Ling seemed to notice her cautiousness, as he smiled and slowed so that Emmi would catch up.

"What? Are you nervous of me now? You have nothing to worry about; I never intended of actually hurting you." He said with a sing-song voice, as he walked like happy little kid, lifting his feet a bit higher when he walked.

"Who exactly are you? And who were those others guys you were with?" Emmi asked, ignoring his statement.

"They're my clansmen. The shorter one with the mustache is Old Man Fu, and the other one's name is Lan Fan." He said as he smiled.

"Lan Fan? That person is a girl?" Ling nodded.

"Mmhm. Their family has served mine for generations. You see, I'm actually a prince of Xing. The twelfth one to be exact!" Emmi halted, staring closely at Ling before noticing that she stopped, and came to a halt as well.

.."Hm? Are you alright?" He said, moving a bit closer. Emmi felt something bubbling inside her, tightening her chest and releasing, as she let out a snicker, before laughing. She clutched her stomach as she laughed loudly, her eyes beginning to water from how hard she was laughing. Her laughter floated in the air like a melody, as she had to take deep breath to prevent her stomach from aching so much.

"I-i'm sorry…! I.. Ha ha ha… I didn't think that you'd be a prince!" She managed to speak in between her giggles. Ling pouted.

"Hey! I really am a prince of Xing!" Emmi waved him off as she giggled, her laughter calming down after a few deep breaths.

"No I believe you! It just surprised me, that's all!" She said as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She kept walking forward, a stubborn grin still harbored on her face as Ling pouted and picked up his pace to caught up with her.

"What about you then? Why are you traveling with Edward and Alphonse?" She smiled, and placed her hands behind her back as she walked comfortably.

"They're my partners." She said simply, and heard another rumbling crash close by, and walked in the direction of it.

"Partners for what?" Emmi could feel her smile twitch downward for only a second before answering.

"Let's just say… They're helping me find something I lost."

"And what is it that you lost?" Ling replied, seeming to be very curious about her.

"Nothing that will concern you too much. I think we are pretty close now." She dodged his question, and began walking up a staircase like wall that had been destroyed in the fight. She could hear Ed and Al's yelling from up ahead on top. For some reason, she got a conscious feeling that eyes were on her, and as she turned to face the Xingese prince, Ling grinned, while tucking his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to him.

"You know, I have the feeling we're going to get to know each other a looot better.." Emmi couldn't help but feel her cheeks blossom a bit as her eyes widened slightly, before turning away from his gaze walking slightly faster up the slope. The first thing she saw was Alphonse, who was standing next to a girl with a similar skin tone to Emmi, with a short black ponytail and tan suspenders. Alphonse had Old Man Fu is in his arms, tied up tightly by a rope. She then saw Ed speaking to the girl she learned was Lan Fan, as she was tied up with some rope with as she hung from an alchemy-based pole. Ed stood with his automail arm completely broken off, slung over his shoulder.

"Heeey! Good work guys!" Ling called out to Ed and Al, with his arm still wrapped around Emmi. "You guys have some pretty impressive skills!" Ed glared harshly at the prince.

"Why you-! What are you so chipper about?!" He yelled, walking over to where Emmi, Ling and Alphonse stood before noticing the physical contact between Emmi and Ling.

"Emmi? What are you doing hanging around that weirdo?!" Emmi tilted her head, lifting a finger and placing it by her chin innocently before pondering silently

"Well… he's pretty funny!" Emmi nervously chuckled as she answered, her shoulders shaking slightly in laughter.

"HE'S FUNNY?!" Ed shouted back in a comical anger, which caused her to chuckle more.

"You two should come work for me and together we can take over this country!" Ling offered innocently, before Emmi pulled herself away from Ling's grasp, and knocked him on the head with her fist.

"Hey! No no no! They're my partners, so you can't take them away from me!" She retorted back, her cheeks puffing out as she glared at Ling.

"I've had enough of your idiotic chattering! Just go back to Xing!" Ed quickly yelled at Ling, before their gazes were turned to a crowd of Rush Valley's townspeople, who were not the happiest bunch.

" _Look at the mess you made! You practically destroyed our town!"_

" _You're covering the damages!"_

" _And your restaurant bill too!"_

Ed, Emmi and Alphonse took a couple steps backwards, trying to get away from the townspeople as Ed tried to plead with them.

"Hey wait just hold on a second! This guy and his little entourage should be paying for everything!" Ed motioned to Ling, before stammering as Ling was suddenly far say from them.

"So sorry! I don't understand much language of this country! Okay, bye-bye now!" He spoke as he wiggled, before waving and jumping off the roof they were on.

"HEY YOU GET THE HELL BACK HERE!" Ed shouted after him, to no avail as Ling was gone. Moments after Alphonse noticed that Old Man Fun and Lan Fan were gone too, leaving the three of them to deal with the complaints of the angry crowd.

"You gotta be kidding. How am I supposed to fix this place up with only one arm?" Ed grumbled, looking frustrated at his broken automail.

"It's okay, brother! I'll take care of it!" Alphonse spoke proudly, as he clapped his hands together.

"Woohoo! Go Alphonse!" Emmi cheered, earning a proud nod from the armored boy. Ed seemed distraught suddenly, as he began sweating.

"Don't worry! You can leave this all to me!" Alphonse said before turning to Ed, only to see him on the face-first in the ground and Emmi crouched next to him, poking his head.

"Huh?! What's the matter, brother?!"

* * *

After Alphonse fixed up most of the town, the trio made their way to Winry's automail shop.

"We're back!" Ed and Al called out, and were greeted not by a pretty girl with blonde hair and warm smile, but instead a boy with dark hair and a rather silly look on his face.

"Hello~! We meet again!" He spoke happily, as the three of them stared at the Xingese boy dumbfounded as Ed walked up to him and took a swing to his head with his broken automail.

"WHAT'S YOUR SORRY BUTT DOING HERE?!" Ed yelled as he gritted his teeth, an angry vein visible on his forehead.

"Ha ha ha ha! Now now, we're all friends here, right?" Ling questioned nervously, laughing as Ed growled in his face, his teeth looking sharper than usual.

"That's how you treat your friends? By sicking your dogs on them? Those two didn't go easy!" He snarled, as Ling smiled nervously.

"Let it go! I promise I'll give them a talking to later." Before he sat up right in his chair before speaking. "The girl's name is Lan Fan. The old man is called Fu. Their family has served mine for generations. They're quite good at what they do." He explained, while Ed had a silly look on his face as he spoke up.

"Oh? So you shake down strangers for food and yet you can somehow afford two personal attendants?" Ling shrugged his shoulders, raising his arms in the air nonchalantly.

"Well I _am_ the emperor's son, after all." Ed and Al's expressions went blank, as their mouths formed an 'O' shape.

"Emperor's son?" They spoke simultaneously, as the same image appeared in their heads before the two of them shared a glance to each other, and immediately snickered, kneeling on the ground with their shoulders shaking from bubbly laughter. Emmi couldn't help but giggle as well.

"See? I told you he's funny!" She grinned as she saw Ed wiping away a small tear in the corner of his eye.

"Not the reaction I anticipated." Ling responded in a flat tone.

"S-sorry! We just didn't see that coming!" Al responded in breathy tone, with bits of chuckles in between.

"Emmi, you were right! The guy who collapsed on the road and mooched food off of us is the son of an emperor!" Ed snickered, but was suddenly cut off when akunai appeared by his face. It took only a moment for him to realize what it was, and to jump back in fear and surprise. Emmi felt the wind fly across her ear when that flew, and she turned slowly to see Lan Fan, crouched by the window, with a frightening glare as a dark aura seemed to radiate around her.

"You will not speak badly about Master Ling." She spat.

"Nice to see you." Ed responded in a blank tone.

"No, you're probably right. It's not that big of a deal." Ling spoke in a relaxed tone. "The emperor has a lot of sons."

"Hm? More?" Emmi questioned kindly, as Ling nodded and began to explain.

"See, it's like this. My country Xing is broken up into fifty different clans. With an emperor at the top, reigning over all of them. The daughter of each clan's chief becomes one of the emperor's wifes, and they bear his children. The current emperor..has nineteen daughters. And twenty-four sons. I come in number twelve in that line." The trio before him were completely baffled. Emmi's mouth dropped slightly, with her brows furrowed in disbelief and shock as Edward's was the same.

"Fourty-three kids? That's incredible!"

"The issue of succession must be a tricky one!" Alphonse agreed, before Ling held a finger up and continued talking.

"Indeed it is. That's the problem we're facing right now!" Ling then frowned, lowering his hand as his brows furrowed. "The emperor's health had begun deteriorating. Each clan is doing everything they can to curry favor. And I'm no exception." The last part he mentioned with a chuckle, as his cheerful demeanor rose up to his face again.

"Ooh I see. So what you're trying to do is up your chances by discovering the secret to immortality." Emmi realized, nodded her head to herself.

"Exactly!" Ling's voice was bubbly. "Now! The Philosopher's Stone! What information can you offer?" He spoke happily to Ed, with a tone that would hopefully change Ed's decision of keeping what he knows about the Philosopher's Stone a secret, but to no avail.

"Nope. Not happening. The stone isn't a tool for a political game." He spoke in a scolding, yet blank tone. Ling swiftly bounced up from his chair and practically tackled Ed into a hug.

"Aww then I'll just have to stay with you until you tell mee!~" He sang as Ed grabbed his automail and gave Ling a good couple of smacks in a attempt to get Ling off of him. Ed retaliated with a couple of snarky remarks when he was cut off by the sound of a lovely girl's voice.

"I'm baack!" Emmi recognized that tone as Winry's and took a quick glance between her and Ed's arm.

 _Oh no. This isn't gonna be good._ She sweatdropped.

"Did you see that? There was some kinda fight on main street…" She trailed off upon the sight she had gazed upon. Emmi could only imagine what was going through Winry's head upon walking into the shop with a Xingese boy wrapped around Edward's leg, who was waving his broken automail arm in the air. Of course, Alphonse and Emmi took a big step back, with their hands up in the arm for protection from Winry's wrath, as Mr. Garfiel sipped on his tea quietly.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?!" She screamed, followed by a loud crash and Edward's pained yelling. Emmi quickly took cover behind Alphonse, as some of Winry's tools and materials flew in the air, their main target Ed.

After a while of Ed's pained yells and Winry's harsh and terrifying scolding, she began working on Ed's arm (again).

The sky had grown dark, as the temperature dropped slightly, causing a chill in the room.

"So. Where are you headed to break your automail, _this_ time?" Winry grumbled in anger.

"You'll just assume I'll break it." Ed grumbled back, as Emmi smiled and rubbed the back of her head.

"You probably will." She said grinning as Ed turned and gave her a harsh glare.

"We were thinking about doing some digging in Central." Winry's eyes sparkled upon hearing the name.

"You guys are going to Central? I wanna come too! Take me with you!" She glimmered, eyes sparking in excitement.

"Ooh, me too! I've never been to Central! I wanna go too!" Emmi perked up, raising her hand like a little kid in school. Ed ignored Emmi and turned to Winry.

"What do you wanna go to Central for?"

"I'd like to go see the Hughes family again!" She smiled.

"But… don't you have a lot of work to do here?" Alphonse assumed, and Winry's excitement plummeted, as Mr. Garfiel spoke up behind Winry.

"It's okay if you want to go, Winry. You should take a break every once in awhile." Winry's excitement skyrocketed as her cheeks blossomed in happiness as she gripped Mr. Garfiel's hand.

"Oh really?! Thank you so much, Mr. Garfiel!"

"Okay, we'll all go!" Edward acknowledged, with Al peeking up beside him.

"Central, here we come!" Winry giggled and grinned in excitement, as a warm smile appeared on her face.

"This is going to be so fun! Winry! You can show me around the city! I heard they have great restaurants and pretty flower carts!" Emmi exclaimed as she grabbed Winry's hand in excitement, to which they both jumped around in glee.

"Yeah! That sounds like so much fun! It'll definitely be nice to not be the only girl, too!" Winry smiled, before a certain prince's head popped up in the window.

"We're going to Central! How exciting!" He yelled happily as Ed immediately disagreed.

"I TOLD YOU YOU'RE NOT COMING WITH UUUSSS!"

* * *

 **Awww... I had to add in a little teaser of Ling/OC :) I think it's so cute...**

 ***If you couldn't tell already, Emmi is a pretty outgoing and happy person, who can get along with anyone. She's a go-with-the-flow type person, while still keeping her morals and beliefs apart of who she is.**

 ***I absolutely cringed writing Bradley, I literally hate him with every fiery passion in my body sooo... gtfo Bradley smh**

 ***I hope I cleared up how she fights and the ability she uses in the scene by Izumi's shop, just to clarify any confusion lol**

 ***I would also like to clarify that since Emmi has no memory of pretty much anything, she believes that she has never been to Central before (but has she in the past? We'll just have to wait and find out...) She doesn't know who anyone is, except for the people that she has met, that's why she didn't know who Bradley was. She's got a real bad case of amnesia...**

 ***I'm loving how I'm making Ed and Emmi's friendship work throughout the story, and I plan to bring Alphonse in more as well. Eeee I'm so excited to write more!**

 ***I'd also like to apologize if they're are anything grammer errors or spell checks... My bad :P**

 ***Thanks so much for reading and I really hope you look forward to the next chapter! Please follow/favorite, and review what you think :)**

 ***Next chapter, they are heading to Central to meet up with the Hughes family, but they are in for a very shocking and unpleasant news instead :( Until next time!**


	4. Footsteps of a Comrade-In-Arms

"Wooooow! So _this_ is what a train looks like!" Emmi exclaimed, as walked excitedly on the train that they were taking to head to Central. Her eyes sparkled at the narrow passage car, failing to see the annoyed glares from the other passengers in the car. The six of them sat in their seats, as Emmi was practically jumping around in excitement.

"Hey. Sit down, you're causing a scene." Edward grumbled from his seat by the window, as his head rested in his hand that was propped up by his elbow. Alphonse sat next to him, with his hands in his lap as Winry and Ling sat across from the two brothers. Lan Fan and Fu sat in a different seat behind them.

"This is so cool! I've never been on a train before! At least I don't remember if I have or not." She spoke with enthusiasm, as her eyes trained on the door that led to another train car.

"Hey, look! Another train car!" With that she ran to it, beaming through it before opening the door and stepping into the other train car. She could hear Ed and Alphonse call out to her but ignored them as she went through.

"That idiot girl… She's gonna get us kicked off." Ed grumbled with annoyance laced in his voice. Before he could tell Al to go get her, the car door opened again. There was Emmi, with a bright smile on her face as she walked back to the train seats where they were sitting.

"Where'd you go off to, Emmi?" Winry's voice spoke up at the chocolate girl, who smiled brightly before reaching down to pick up something by her feet and holding it up to the group. It was a little boy, with brown hair and blue eyes, with a smile just as bright as Emmi's.

"Look who I found! Isn't he cute?" She grinned even widely, as the boy in her hands smiled brightly as well. The group's face's dropped, as their eyes went wide and mouths dropped upon the girl holding a little boy. The sweat was clear on their faces as the atmosphere seemed to drop.

"Emmi…" Winry whispered in horror, looking a tad blue-ish. "Where did you find him?" Her voice was cautious, spacing out the words so that Emmi could listen to them carefully.

"I found him by this older lady! She was sleeping, and he wanted to be picked up, so I brought him over here!" Emmi spoke, as the child giggled in her hands.

"You mean… you took that child away from his mother?" Ling questioned, his voice in a straight tone as he looked deadpanned at the girl.

" _Took_ is a strong word… I just picked him up because he looked lonely!" Emmi smiled at the prince, as the little boy sneezed lightly in her hands, his body twitching subconsciously.

"Emmi." Ed's voice perked up, and Emmi shifted her gaze to the short boy. His face was contorted in pure anger, as well as annoyance. His gritted his teeth, and practically spat out the words that was laced with venom. He took a deep breath through his nose, and yelled.

"TAKE HIM BACK TO HIS MOTHER YOU IDIOOOT!" A swift _whack_ was then heard by the other passengers, as they turned towards the group in curiosity. An loud ' _ouch'_ was clearly heard too, with hurried footsteps and the opening and closing of a door accompanying them.

* * *

"Aaaah!" Edward's strained voice groaned as he stretched his body, tired from sitting for a couple of hours. Emmi rubbed the bump forming on the back of her head tiredly as well, as Alphonse and Winry stood next to them, with Fu and Lan Fan standing on the roof of the train car. "Man, I'm beat!" He spoke, holding his suitcase behind his back.

They have finally arrived to Central, with its many citizens in the station.

"Being spied on for hours can do that." Alphonse replied, before Winry asked, curious about Al's statement.

"Mr. Fu and Lan Fan were keeping eyes on him?" Alphonse nodded, being cut off by Fu.

"Hey. Where's the Young Lord?" It seemed to register in their minds that Ling had disappeared, as they looked side to side of the station, but didn't catch a glimpse of him.

"He's not here." Alphonse responded.

"I don't know. Maybe he ran off again." Winry spoke as well, with Emmi speaking.

"How'd he just leave without us noticing?" She spoke, looking up at Lan Fan and Fu, who shared a glance to each other, before slouching in disappointment.

"Good grief, I can't take my eyes off him for a second." Fu grumbled, before him and Lan Fan dashed off in different directions of the station. They began walking out of the station, heading in the direction of Central as the two bodyguards followed, heads to looking side to side for Ling.

"What if he's run off again?" Lan Fan muttered nervously, her fingers shaking as she looked around.

"If so, I'd say it's a relief." Ed spoke, not caring about the whereabouts of Ling as he kept walking. "Let's go."

"Coming." Alphonse, Winry, and Emmi responded simultaneously, following the golden boy.

* * *

The city of Central was breathtaking. The buildings were tall, as the air was clean. The people of Central looked like happy citizens, with kids playing around while their parents were close behind, or couples walking together in the clean, beautiful streets. If Emmi was so excited to be on a train, you can imagine how mesmerized she was to be in such a big city.

She was so excited she couldn't speak, her eyes simply sparkled and her large smile spoke for her as she walked along next to Ed, Winry and Al. Her head snapped from one thing to another, completely amazed at all that was around her.

"Emmi sure seems excited." Alphonse said happily, trudging along as the dark eyed girl was geeking.

"She's so excited she can't even speak." Ed acknowledged.

"I think it's cute!" Winry smiled at Emmi, who was completely oblivious to the conversation they had just had about her. They kept walking, with Lan Fan and Fu still searching for Ling above them.

"Okay! Guess we should stop by the military office first." Ed informed Al who agreed with a nod of his head.

"In that case, I think I'll head straight for the Hughes house and let them know I'm in town. I can't wait to see Gracia and cute little Elicia!" Winry beamed with her cheeks flecked with red.

"Sounds good. We shouldn't be that far behind you." He spoke with a smile, as Winry waved them off and ran in the opposite direction.

"I wonder if Lieutenant Colonel Hughes as put together any information on the Philosopher's Stone since we left." Alphonse spoke, as Ed smile turned into a frown.

"The Fuhrer was pretty clear on his orders regarding that. I think it's best if we give Hughes the information we've found out first." Ed spoke as he turned his head towards Al, whose armor clank as he turned his body as well.

"Homunculi."

"Yeah." With that Ed turned, and walked a couple of feet before stopping, and turning towards Emmi who was still completely zoned out.

"Emmi! Come on! We're leaving." It took her a couple of seconds to snap out of her gaze, as she turned to the two brothers with a happy smile on her face, as she ran to caught up with them, who had started walking again.

"Where are we going?" She practically skipped along, as Ed sweatdropped.

"Geez, you weren't listening to a thing, were you?"

* * *

Central Headquarters was absolutely beautiful, with its tall building beaming in the sky with the emblem of a dog on the face of the building. They stopped in the front of it, as Emmi's eyes sparkled once again in delight and joy.

"It's huge!" She exclaimed, honestly feeling a bit overwhelmed at how amazingly huge it was.

Al chuckled on how excited she was. "It _is_ pretty big." Emmi turned to him and nodded happily, as Ed walked towards the door, with Al and Emmi following. They entered, and Ed showed his verification lazily to the lady at the counter as they walked down a hallway. At the end of the hallway, was a woman wearing a blue military uniform, like the ones Emmi had seen in the Devil's Nest. She had blonde hair, which was clipped in the back, along with spiked bangs on her forehead. She stood quietly, as if she was waiting for something, hugging a book to her chest. Edward and Al seemed to recognize her, as he greeted her upon sight.

"Huh? Lieutenant Hawkeye?" The woman Emmi recognized as Hawkeye opened her eyes upon hearing her name, and turned towards the trio. Her eyes were a creamy chocolate brown, way lighter than Emmi's.

"Hey guys. It's been awhile." Her soothing voice spoke, as Ed's face contorted into something more alarmed, as his voice strained before speaking again.

"If you're here, that means so is-"

"Thanks for waiting." A deeper voice appeared behind Hawkeye, causing Edward's breath to hitch suddenly. A man walked behind Hawkeye, giving her a curt smile before looking towards the trio. His hair was black as night, along with his eyes, as it flowed down his forehead. He was also wearing a blue military uniform, and Emmi quickly took note of the extra stars on his shoulders.

"Yep. The Colonel." Ed groaned completely, his voice dropping in annoyance as he looked upon the man in front of him.

"Oh hello, Fullmetal." He spoke to Ed as his eyes turned towards Emmi. "And who might you be?" Emmi smiled brightly, as she walked in front of Ed, standing before the two adults.

"I'm Emmi! Ed and Al's partners! And who are you guys?"

"I'm Colonel Roy Mustang, and this is my Lieutenant, Riza Hawkeye." The woman named Riza bowed slightly, as Emmi stuck both of her hands out in a polite gesture.

"It's nice to meet you both! You know for a second there, I thought you were gonna say that she's your girlfriend, Mr. Mustang!" Emmi laughed, as Roy's hand went stiff and Riza's eyes grew wide. She heard Ed practically choke on his spit, as Roy coughed to clear his throat as Riza closed her eyes, with the tiniest hint of red coloring her olive skin.

"You've got it all wrong! She's my lieutenant!" Roy choked out nervously, his voice shaky as a lopsided smile was on his face. Emmi tilted her head to the side, before answering.

"Oh… I just assumed! My bad!" She said with a smile, before she felt a fist hit her head, gently, before Edward walked next to the girl.

"What are you doing here in Central, Colonel?" Edward asked, slipping his hand off of Emmi's head as heard Roy clear his throat again, before answering.

"Didn't you hear? I was transferred to this branch last month. And what about you guys?"

"We're here for a little information gathering." He grumbled, turning away from Roy's gaze. "And we were thinking we'd pay Lieutenant Colonel Hughes a visit todayas well." Emmi's head tilted to the side as she looked to Edward.

"That's like the fourth time I've heard his name. Who's Colonel Hughes?" She failed to notice Roy flinch upon hearing the name. Ed's eyes turned to her as he answered.

"Colonel Hughes is the one who's been helping us in our mission. We wouldn't have gotten to where we were if it wasn't for him." Ed answered simply with Al nodding on the side.

"Really? Then it's because of him that I got to meet you guys! I gotta meet him!" Ed sent her a small smile before turning to Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye.

"Where is he anyway?" Edward asked, as Emmi turned to the two with a smile of her face as well. But that smile faltered slightly, upon seeing the expressions of the two military personnel in front of her. Roy's face seem to contort downward, with a sorrowful look on his face while Riza's eyebrows furrowed, a grimace on her face as well. Emmi's head tilted just slightly, noticing their despair-filled looks.

 _Why do they look… sad?_

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Roy answered, with his voice dropped an octave, going deeper than it originally seemed.

"Not here. He retired out in the country. And took his wife and daughter with him." Riza's head shifted to Roy's, searching his eyes for something that Emmi could not comprehend. "To take over the family business. So.. he's not here."

"I see. Well that's too bad." Ed's eyes fluttered to the floor in disappointment, as Emmi's eyes furrowed.

"Aww… I really looked forward to meeting him." She spoke quietly, failing to notice Roy's flinch once again that lasted a split second. She heard Al's armor shifted as he turned his head to Edward.

"We were hoping to see him." His voice echoed through the armored helmet. Roy turned around, and walked a couple steps away from them before stopping, and speaking quietly.

"Fullmetal. Watch yourself. Don't do anything crazy." Roy warned, and as Ed gave him a curious "okay", he walked down the hallway, with Riza following.

"I can't believe Hughes is actually gone." Edward spoke after them, as Al's armor shifted again.

"Ah! I almost forgot! We need to tell Winry about all this! She went straight to the Hughes house."

"Yeah, you're right!" Edward agreed, as he adjusted the suitcase he was holding in his hand before turning and running, as he suddenly was pushed back by a person standing behind them. It was a woman, with short black hair and steel blue eyes, with a mole under her left eye. She was also wearing a military uniform, and seemed to be a bit startled as Ed had just ran into her.

"Lieutenant Ross!" He acknowledged, as she gave them a quick smile.

"I haven't seen you two here in awhile!" Her gaze shifted towards Emmi, who gave her a smile back. Without her having to ask, Emmi quickly answered her question.

"Hi, I'm Emmi!"

"I'm Lieutenant Maria Ross." She spoke with a bow as Emmi and her shared a quick handshake. Her steel blue eyes darted from Emmi, to Ed, to Al, as she asked another question. "What's the rush?"

"We just heard about Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." Edward answered, and Maria Ross's face seemed to dim in color, as a sorrowful look crept across her face.

"Yeah. It's rough news, huh?" Her voice low and small as she spoke.

"There was still so much we wanted to tell him about." Ed spoke with a small, sad smile.

"Yeah, I really would've liked to meet him." Emmi spoke as well, failing to notice Maria's eyes flicker wider upon her statement.

"We would've liked to say goodbye." Alphonse spoke, as his armor shifted as he turned his body towards the Lieutenant.

"We weren't able to reach you. Don't worry though, the military have him a proper send off." She spoke in a low voice, as Emmi's heart panged. The way that she was speaking, it didn't feel right. She frowned, trying to search Maria's face as Ed spoke.

"Wow, that was nice."

"That's how it's done. Also, if you guys haven't heard already, I'm sure you'll be glad to know… He was promoted. Two whole ranks." Ed's eyes widen, as well as Emmi's as a shocking, and overwhelming feeling corrupted their bodies.

"Up to Brigadier General?" Edward questioned, ultimately surprised.

"He retired to the country and they promoted him?" Alphonse asked as his body shifted again, and that's when Maria's hands flew up to cover her mouth. It took only a moment for Emmi to realize what she had been truly saying, and her brows furrowed upward in sadness.

 _So that's why._

Maria's eyes darted to the three of them, as Edward blinked a couple of times before realizing what Emmi had. Upon realization, a sudden cold sweat appeared on his face as he looked to Maria in disbelief.

"Lieutenant Ross?" He spoke quietly, his breath quickening, as a shadow crossed over Ed's face and it dimmed in despair. "No! Not the Lieutenant Colonel… Why him?!"

Maria was at a complete loss for words, as the boy in front of her questioned her. An unsettling feeling sparked in Emmi's stomach as she understood what had happened to the Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.

 _He was killed._

It was only moments after that that Ed had taken off into a run, past Maria and back out through the front doors. Alphonse and Emmi called out to him as he ran, before following him through the doors. He dashed down the stairs, dropping his suitcase as he leaped down the flight and into the park. Alphonse picked up his suitcase, and was still at the top of the flight of stairs as Edward took off.

Emmi stood at the flight of stairs next to Al, as she recalled what the Lieutenant had told them.

" _Brigadier General Hughes is dead. He was murdered shortly after you were discharged from the hospital, Edward. I'm afraid we still haven't found the person responsible."_

Emmi ran a couple steps forward, and ran down the stairs, with Alphonse following, as they ran to catch up with Ed. They followed him into a small alleyway, where he stood along the wall to catch his breath. Al's armor clanked on the ground as he stopped a couple of feet behind Ed, who had shrunken to the ground. Emmi stood by Al, feeling absolutely horrible. Horrible wasn't even enough to describe how she was feeling. A sickening feeling of despair and guilt had seeped into her stomach, leaving her legs to feel weak and a cold shudder to pass through her body, as she watched the two brother sink into a pit of despair. She didn't know what to say. Hell, she didn't have a clue of what to say, or how to react. Even though she had never met Maes Hughes, a disgusting feeling of guilt sat in her stomach and she didn't know why.

Edward managed to pick himself up, as he silently walked to the direction of an apartment complex. He stood before it, with Alphonse and Emmi behind him.

"What do we do?" Alphonse spoke to his brother, who didn't spare him a glance as he looked toward the building.

"We tell it how it is. You go on back; I'm the only one who has to take blame for what happened." Edward's voice was low, and strident.

"Brother. This isn't just _your_ problem. It's both of ours. Whether you like it or not, I'm going in with you." Emmi commended Alphonse. He was a great little brother, who always supported Edward in the decisions he made. He wouldn't allow Edward to take all the blame on himself, which Emmi had finally noticed a flaw in Edward.

 _He thinks he's in this alone. He thinks that if he puts the blame on himself, that no one else would get hurt._ Emmi thought quietly to herself as she sighed quietly.

 _He's a good brother._

"Thanks Al. But you really don't have to-"

"We made up our minds! We said we were getting our bodies back no matter what." Edward's eyes widen, as he snapped his head to Alphonse as a small gasp escaped him. "But if people are going to die because of that, then I don't want mine back." The two brothers stared at each other for a few moments, feeling like years, as they gave each other a silent nod before heading in. Emmi's voice stopped them.

"I'll… just wait out here." Al's body clanked as his body shifted towards the dark skinned girl.

"Are you sure? I'm sure Gracia and Elicia would like to meet you." Emmi hesitated before shaking her head.

"No… I'd just be intruding. Go on. I'll wait right here." She spoke with a small smile, as Alphonse nodded and Ed gave her a quick "alright" before heading inside. Once they were out of sight, her smile dropped immediately, as she frowned and walked forward to the steps, and sat on the first one. She suddenly felt tired, as her shoulders slumped. For some reason, this feeling felt almost… familiar as she looked up to the blue sky. She found herself thinking about many different things as she waited on the cool, concrete ground. Soon the bright, blue sky turned into a peachy orange, as the sun began to set. She wasn't sure how long she was waiting, but she could only assume it was for a couple of hours as Ed, Winry, and Al walked out of the apartment complex doors. Emmi quickly stood to greet them with a small smile, which faltered quickly upon seeing the looks on their faces.

"Hey Winry." Emmi greeted the girl, who only gave her a quiet "hello". Emmi's eyes dropped in sadness for a bit before they bounced back up.

"Well… we should find somewhere to get some rest, don't you think?" Emmi insisted to the quiet group, as they simply nodded and walked in the direction of the city. The walk was suffocatingly quiet, as the orange sky provided a bit of color in this dull, gray moment. They eventually made it to the huge hotel, and entered. Emmi ran up to the counter, asking for two rooms as Edward showed the receptionist his state identification. The man handed Emmi two keys, with the rooms right next to each other. They sorrowfully walked up the stairs of the hotel, as they headed to the top floor, and down the hallway to their rooms. Winry and Emmi shared a room as Ed and Al shared one of their own.

As the got to the room number **503** , Winry gave Ed and Al a sad smile, before walking in, as Emmi followed. She watched as Winry placed her bag on the ground and placing the basket of apples onto the table and took off her blue jacket, slipping off her shoes and heading straight to the bed. She landed on it, the bed creaking as she bounced slightly. She turned over and pressed the pillow to her face, hugging it as her long blonde hair spilled past her shoulders and onto the bed. Emmi watched sadly, as she walked over to the bed, and sat on the side, the mattress weighing down from her weight. She sat there in silence for a couple of moments, the quietness making Emmi ache. She still didn't have a clue of what to say to her, but before she could speak, Winry's quiet and frill voice spoke from the muffled pillow.

"Emmi." The dark eyed girl's attention turned to Winry, as the blonde girl shifted her head slightly to the right, so that Emmi could see her sad, blue eyes. "I…I…" She tried to speak, but Emmi could Winry's eyes glisten, as tears headed up in her eyes.

"You don't have to, Winry. I'm just… I'm so sorry this happened." Emmi responded, her voice tired and sad as Winry's grip on the pillow tightened, as her shoulders starting shaking visibly. Emmi placed a hand on her head, in a comforting way, and gave Winry a small smile.

"I'm gonna get you some food, okay?" Winry didn't speak, but nodded slowly, as Emmi remained for a few seconds before getting up and walking to the door, and stepping out. She could see Edward approaching from the side of the hallway, as his eyes acknowledged her.

"Emmi. What are you doing?" He spoke tiredly as well, his eye lidded halfway as he walked with his hands in his pockets.

"I'm gonna get Winry some food."

"She hasn't eaten yet?"

"No, and I doubt she will, but she needs _something._ " Emmi spoke, as Ed continued to look at her. She broke eye contact by looking down, before speaking again.

"I'm so sorry, Ed. I… I don't even know what to say. I'm your partner, and yet…" She shook her head, discarding any negative thoughts before looking back up at Ed's golden eyes.

"Thanks for being here for us." With that, he walked past her. Emmi sighed, and walked down the hallway. She managed to get Winry some food, not completely sure if she would like it or not, as she headed back up to their room, with the tray in her hands.

She walked up to the door, and was about to place her hands on the doorknob, before she heard mutterings of a conversation. She placed her ear on the door, and was able to distinguish the voices inside. It was Edward and Winry, talking in small, quiet voices.

" _Someday…I'd hope… That Mr. Hughes would get to try some too!"_ Winry's shaky voice echoed through the door, as Emmi would guess with no doubt that Winry had started crying. It made Emmi's body fill with a sadness that was about to tip over. It made her chest tight, as she could almost feel the sting of tears protruding from the back of her eyes. Winry's sons pounded at Emmi like a hammer, as she had sunken down onto the ground, placing the tray onto the ground next to her. She pulled her knees up to her face, and wrapped her arms around them.

She couldn't help but feel her heart pang in distress, as an unwavering feeling of despair loomed over her.

* * *

 _ **Aww... Emmi with the little boy (: I just added that in there to provide some happiness and comedy before it got real sad...**_

 _ **Let's just take a moment to appreciate how Emmi tried to cheer the group up after learning about Hughes's death, even if she never got to meet him. (This episode makes me cry every time so having to write this was pretty heartbreaking :/)**_

 _ **Emmi truly felt terrible about learning what had happened about Hughes, even though she never knew him. The fact that her friends were so down and sad about it made her feel sad and down about it, but don't worry, they'll kick themselves in gear in the next chapter and work even harder to prevent anymore deaths like this to ever happen again! (I am very salty that Hughes had to die like come on man why you gotta do us like that)**_

 ** _Lol anyway, please leave a review on what you think, and thanks for reading! Sorry this chapter wasn't as long as before, and I apologize for any grammar and spelling errors. I took a while to update because I didn't know if anyone was even reading my story or liked it, but I decided to keep writing because I have such a blast writing this story and cannot wait to write even more!_**

 ** _Thanks again! Have a wonderful day! (:_**


	5. Cold Flame

The quiet squeaking of Al's armor as Winry wiped it with a towel echoed throughout the room. The night went by slowly, and achingly as the four of them were accompanied with darkness. It was now morning, as the four of them had gathered into Ed and Al's room, with Winry cleaning Al, and Ed laying on the bed by the window and Emmi sitting comfortably on the sofa.

"You're all scratched up, aren't you?" Winry's sad voice squeaked, to Al, who also had a rag and was cleaning his helmet. "You're having a rough time with it, huh?" Al chuckled. Winry stood, having finished cleaning his armor, turning to Ed whose body faced away from her.

"So, what've you got planned now?" Silence answered her. After a couple of seconds, she spoke again. "Well Ed?" There was a short pause, before Ed lifted his metal arm up, and started to flex his metal fingers, with them clanking as he did so.

"What _are_ we gonna do?" He spoke in a quiet voice, more to himself than the other three in the room. He went quiet again, before he spoke to Winry again. "What do you think?"

Winry stared at him blankly, and when she didn't answer he turned his body towards her, with a slightly deadpanned look on his face. "What's with the face?"

"I'm just.. surprised. You never asked me for my advice before."

"Oh." Silence crept into the room again. Emmi watched as Winry broke her gaze with Ed and placed her gloved hand on Al's back.

"I'm scared, you know? You and Al have been off somewhere, and digging up information… Information that could get you killed like Mr. Hughes. Whenever I think about that, it terrifies me. I mean, you could die. I could still be here and then you suddenly… won't be there anymore. Like my mom and dad. It's almost more than I can handle. Honestly, sometimes I wish you would just give this whole thing up. I want you to get your bodies back, but I also want you to be alive and safe. It's just… I don't know." Emmi watched as Winry's demeanour slouched, as her shoulders drooped in sadness. She turned her head to Ed, a solemnly look across her face. "I'm sorry. I really don't know what I think you should do."

A quiet pause followed after, until Alphonse spoke up in a lighter tone.

"You're sure being nice, Winry." Winry turned back to Al, with a bit of red blossoming her face.

"Why do you say that?! I'm always nice!" She gave Al a few swift hits with her trusty wrench, to which he responded with a few "Ow!" Emmi couldn't help but let a small smile perk on her face.

"What about you, Emmi?" Ed's voice spoke again, causing Emmi to look toward the golden boy. "I know we don't each other that well, but… What do you think we should do?"

The room went silent as the three awaited her answer. Her hands had been in her lap throughout the conversation, so she fiddled with her fingers, thinking of the right words to say.

"Well… I know that I don't know Mr. Hughes. Or what he looked like, or what he sounded like, or how he acted. But I'm sure… I'm sure he wouldn't want you to give up. I'm sure that he'd want you to keep searching for the answers that he died for, and to not give up. So I think… I think you shouldn't give up." She spoke softly, as she twirled her fingers clockwise around each other, and then counterclockwise. With that statement, the room went silent again. Ed, Al, and Winry didn't answer, but Emmi could tell that what she said they had certainly thought about.

* * *

Before long, the evening sky had caught up with them, as they laid quietly in their rooms. Winry and Emmi laid boredly in their room, with Winry fixing and organizing some her of tools as Emmi read a magazine near the window. Although she wasn't really _reading_ the magazine, but mostly gazing out of the window, into the bright city of Central.

"Hey. Winry." Emmi spoke quietly, with her eyes still trained on the city.

"What's up, Emmi?" She paused what she was doing, and turned to the dark skinned girl.

"This city is really pretty, but don't you think there's something more to it?" She could hear Winry shifted on the couch she was sitting on to get a better look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"There's just…something doesn't.. feel right. Do you know what I mean?"

"I'm not sure I do. What do you think it could be?"

"I'm not sure. Sorry, it's probably just my imagination." Emmi smiled sheepishly at Winry, who gave her a small smile back before she continued fixing her tools. Emmi gazed out of the window once more, before a familiar clanking echoed throughout the air. Emmi stuck her head out of the window, searching the streets before her as she caught a glimpse of Al's shiny metal armor and Ed's golden hair and short stature.

"Is that… Ed, and Al?" Emmi squinted, but they had turned a corner and were nowhere to be seen. She set the magazine down onto the table next to her.

 _What are they doing out here? I should probably go check on them._

"Uh, Winry? I'll be back okay?" Before Winry could question Emmi further, Emmi cracked the window open more and jumped out, with the cold wind hitting her quickly.

"Emmi! Are you _crazy?!"_ She heard Winry's voice call out to her from the window, as Emmi softly floated to the ground, and running to where she saw Ed and Al last. It didn't take her long to find the two, as they stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Edward! Alphonse!" The two brothers turned upon hearing their names being called.

"And Emmi! What are you doing here?"

"I saw you guys sneaking out, so I followed you." She walked up to the corner that they at, only to find that they were in a conversation with three more people. There at the corner, was Lieutenant Maria Ross, wearing ragged clothes which made Emmi curious. Next to her was a big guy, in torn clothing with a strange helmet that resembled something skull, carrying a large cleaver. He had a visibly gash through his helmet. And a little bit behind him was Ling, in his yellow get up.

"Hm? What are these guys doing here? And who's that?" Emmi questioned, motioning to the cleaver holding man.

"H-hey guys! What are you up to?" Ling spoke sheepishly

"I could ask the same about you!" Ed retorted, before the large man in the middle suddenly yelled before them.

"Quit chattering! We don't have time for this!" He roared as he suddenly swung his cleaver down towards Al, who easily did a backflip and dodged it. Emmi was surprised how fast he moved for such a big body.

"Why you…!" Ed gritted through his teeth, before the larger man spoke again.

"Alright sweetheart! Take that back alley and run straight to the Warehouse District. The darkness outta hide you."

"Wait hold on! Tell us about Hughes!" Maria stopped and gazed towards the trio, as if wanting to stop everything and explain what was going on, but the larger man's voice stopped her.

"Get going! If the MP's show up, they'll shoot you!" Maria was reluctant, but with a shake of her head, she ran into the dark alley.

"Lieutenant Ross!" Edward called out to her, but was stopped by the larger man who was wielding the large cleaver.

"Stay back!"

"What the _hell_ is going on?!" Emmi yelled towards Ed and Al.

"The police are saying that Lieutenant Maria Ross is the one who murdered Lieutenant Hughes…!" Edward gritted out of his teeth, as Emmi let out a quiet gasp.

"But… something just isn't right…!" Alphonse continued, in a cautious stance at the murderous man in front of him. Not long went by, before a large explosion of bright orange burst into the sky not far away from them.

"What was that?!" Edward yelled as the larger man spoke up.

"Looks like they got her!" Edward managed to run by before the larger man could catch him. Alphonse and Emmi took a couple steps forward to catch up with Ed, Alphonse took a swing at the giant man, who dodged easily and ran in the opposite direction.

"Let's go, foreigner!" He shouted at Ling as they ran away.

"Wait!" Emmi called out, with Alphonse speaking up as well.

"Ling! What are you doing with a guy like him?!"

"I'll have to fill you in later, hehe!" Was all they got out of him, as he disappeared into the darkness.

"Come on, Al!" Emmi spoke to the metal giant as they turned down the alleyway that Ed had just ran down.

It didn't take long for the two of them to find Ed, and surprisingly to find Roy Mustang there as well. The air was filled with a hot stench of smoke, that made Emmi's nose sting as she breathed. When they arrived, Ed was filled with white-hot fury as he suddenly let out a loud scream of anger, before running at Roy with his fists raised. Emmi managed to stop him in time but wrapping her arms around his torso, as he struggled to get out of her grip. Al was next to her, with his arms out to stop Ed from attacking the Colonel.

"Ed! Stop!" Emmi shouted as Al shouted the same things, as Ed struggled.

"I'm gonna tear you apart!" He yelled to Roy, as Emmi tightened her grip on him to keep him from doing something that would worsen his situation.

"I won't let you!" Alphonse yelled at his older brother.

"Ed! Calm down!" Emmi yelled as she gritted his teeth. Ed was definitely stronger than she had anticipated. Roy stared at the situation with a bored look, before turning away from them and walked slowly out of the darkness and into the light.

"This bastard just killed Ross!"

"What?!" Alphonse gasped, and him and Emmi both noticed what had gotten Ed so worked up. Before them was a burnt corpse, completely black of soot and ash. The shape of the body was much familiar to that of a female's, as a bracelet that held the name of Maria Ross was broken on the ground.

"Oh my god…" Emmi whispered, shock and confusion apparent on her face.

"How could you do that, Colonel!" Alphonse called out to Roy, who had completely turned his back on them as he took a couple steps forward, before stopping.

"Maria Ross was a fugitive. Our orders were shoot to kill. So I did." He spoke in a cold, uncaring voice. Emmi loosened her grip on Ed and let him go, as she furrowed her brows at the man before her.

 _How can he be so… calm after he just murdered someone?_

"That's all you have to say?!" Alphonse retorted, before Roy countered it.

"About Hughes's death. I apologize for hiding it. But you do not argue against orders. Or ask for explanations, you just follow them. That's what it means to be a soldier." Emmi stared at Roy with disbelief, and her eyebrows furrowed.

 _Is this… what the soldiers are like here…? Are they just… murderers?_

* * *

Not even ten minutes later, that they were soon joined by Central's police force and investigators. They took pictures, and samples of the burnt body as they whispered amongst each other. The trio sat down against the wall in silence, and Emmi was sure that most of the whispers were about the three of them.

"Colonel Mustang! You will explain to me what happened here at once." A man approached Roy, clearly with more status and power that the Colonel. He wore round glasses, and had short choppy blonde hair.

"The message went out that if she resisted, I am permitted to shoot to kill. She resisted, so I killed her." He spoke with a gruff voice.

"I understand the Brigadier General was a friend." The man in uniform spoke again, and Roy answered quietly.

"Yeah. He was a good man." His deep voice sounding more deep and coarse than usual.

"Perhaps then, it was one of your men, who aided in her escape."

"One of my men? Why?"

"Why, Colonel? I'll tell you why. So you could burn her to death with your own hand." Emmi listened to their conversation carefully, as well as watched as two officers picked up the burnt flesh and carried it away in a large blanket.

"I think such speculation is best avoided." Roy spoke quietly, before his gaze fell to Edward's. Edward had a fury so passionate in his eyes, it almost changed the color of his eyes. Anger beamed from his eyes as he glared at Roy, as if trying to find some answer to help him make a conclusion. Emmi was staring at Roy as well, not with such passion, but just a means to figure out how Roy could sound so… bored, and calm… as if this was a normal thing. His gaze left Ed's and went to hers, and for only a brief moment, she swore she saw him give her a scolding glare, as if to tell her something. As if to say, " _you don't know everything."_ She lifted her head to meet Roy's again, but he had already turned away.

* * *

"I'm truly sorry for not telling you about General Hughes's death sooner." Alexander Armstrong's deep voice spoke to the three of them, as they were now present in Central's Hospital. The corpse had been submitted through the morgue so that a coroner could give the body a full autopsy.

"It's my fault." Ed managed to grit out of his teeth, as his head hung low and his clenched fists in anger.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. His murder wasn't your doing, Edward." Before Ed could answer, the door opened and the coroner stood before them.

"Is everyone here then?" A groggy voice came from the coroner, who had a toothpick sticking out of his mouth, who also wore slim glasses and had a visible frown plastered on his face.

"Dr. Knox." Major Armstrong spoke in recognition at the doctor.

"Her body was almost completely destroyed. But judging from what little dental work remained, I was able to conclude that this was indeed María Ross. It's an awful thing you did, turning a beautiful person like her into a pile of charcoal. You must've held quite a grudge against her, didn't you Colonel?" He motioned to Roy, who was sitting on a small sofa on the side of the wall, with his leg crossed onto of the other and his black jacket on the side of him. He gave Dr. Knox a glare, as he kept talking. "Is the vengeance as sweet as you thought it is?"

Roy gave him a hard look, before turning away from the doctor's gaze as the doctor gave him a irritated grunt.

"The famous hero of the Ishvalan war, going this far against a little girl. It makes me sick." The doctor turned around and walked away. Emmi was suddenly curious about this _Ishvalan war_ the doctor spoke about, but decided that now wouldn't be a good time.

Roy then stood, turning to leave before Armstrong's voice stopped him.

"Colonel. Allow me to apologize for one of my own officer's actions. I would never imagine that Second Lieutenant Ross would commit such a heinous murder." Alex's shaking as he spoke was quite visibly, as his voice wobbled as well. The trio stared at him with sad eyes as his voice shaked with anger. "She was so straightforward, and earnest..! A truly fine officer…!"

He sighed, and slumped down in the sofa that Roy was previously sitting in, and pinched his forehead in frustration. A couple of quiet moments went by before Roy spoke up again.

"Fatigue seems to be getting the best of you, Major. Perhaps you should take some leave. Back east, where I was. It's a nice place. None of the big city noise, and lots of beautiful women." Emmi could hear Ed gritting his teeth in anger upon Roy's egotistical comment. She furrowed her brows deeper, as Ed walked over to the side of the door where a trash can lay and kicked it over in anger.

* * *

They were back in their hotel, as the sky was filled with colors of sunset orange, mixed with a bit of purple as Emmi stood by the window looking at the sunset while Edward laid on the couch, with Winry sitting on the other sofa across from him and Alphonse sitting on the floor. It was quiet once again, but the silence was broken when a loud knock was heard from the door. Edward lazily got up and opened it, and before they knew it, Edward was suddenly sent flying back in the room, as he skirted across the ground with a pained grunt erupting from his mouth.

"Major! What the hell did you do that for?!" Major Armstrong was there, as he towered over Edward with a dark expression on his face.

"You listen to me, Edward Elric." His regularly deep voice seemed even deeper with the seriousness laced with it. He suddenly grabbed Edward and lifted him up but his metal arm, poking it before saying that it was broken and needed serious fixing.

"We'll have to repair it at once. There's no time to waste! Allow me to take you to Resembool for repairs!"

"U-uh… Major… What's up?" Ed sweatdropped as Alphonse, Winry and Emmi poked their heads out of the hotel room door.

"What was that?" Winry asked curiously.

"You're going back home to Resembool?" Alphonse spoke with a gasp of surprise.

"What's going on?" Emmi questioned as well.

"I have no idea what he's talking about!" Edward spoke just as confused and curious as the rest of them.

"And you, Alphonse Elric! You would stand out too much, so you remain here in Central."

"U-uh okay..?"

"And you, Miss Emmi. You will remain as well, to watch out for Alphonse Elric, here." Major Armstrong's voice commanded, and she didn't dare to stand up to it.

"U-um okay…?" Major then picked up Edward by his coat, and dragged him out and down the hallway of the hotel.

The confusion of the three left behind was filled in the air, as Edward was suddenly gone from their sights.

 _What the hell got into the Major?_

* * *

 ** _Hey guys (: Sorry for the long wait, I started school so please understand that updates are gonna be pretty slow from now on because I'm gonna be busy most of the time, but when I get a chance, I'll try and write as much as I can!_**

 ** _*This wasn't one of my best chapters, It was pretty short and I apologize for that and any grammar or spelling mistakes in there as well._**

 ** _*There will definitely be more lengthy chapters once we really get into the story some more, I have so much planned for Emmi's character that I am very excited to show you all and I really hope you are excited as well! Anyway, thanks a bunch for being so patient with me and let's hope I can get a new chapter out ASAP._**

 ** _*Thanks again, don't forget to favorite, and leave me a comment of what you thought. Hope you have a lovely day (:_**


	6. Death of the Undying

"This is so weird." Alphonse spoke, towards Emmi and Winry who were all still confused about why Edward was sent off to Resembol so abruptly, without any explanation. "Brother should have arrived in Resembol by now. So why hasn't he called?"

"Not to mention that he has me her to do his repairs." Winry spoke as well, as Emmi piped up as well.

"Yeah, and with what happened to Lieutenant Ross, as well."

"I have no idea what's going on." Alphonse spoke with frustration and sadness laced in his voice, before another voice besides the three spoke as well.

"Good thing I can explain it!" A voice piped up next to Al that the three of them had not noticed until they looked up. It was Ling, who managed to climb inside the window without anyone noticing. A loud scream pierced the hotel room as the trio yelped out in fright.

"Ling!" Emmi scolded the Xingese prince as Winry and Al spoke up as well.

"W-when did you get here?" Winry's shaken voice wobbled as Al yelled as well.

"And how did you even get in?!" Ling nonchalantly pointed towards the window with a smile and spoke:

"The window. I mean, it seemed appropriate for a criminal." The three of them sweatdropped, before Ling continued speaking.

"There's no need to worry about Ed. I'm sure he's just fine." Ling then went on to explain that Lieutenant Ross was innocent, and that she was alive the entire time.

"So Lieutenant Ross is innocent!" Alphonse gasped excitedly, with a confused Winry speaking up after him.

"But why take Ed? The Colonel just wanted him out of his hair, didn't he?"

"You got it!" Ling spoke again with a innocent smile. "So, I struck up a deal with Barry to help him out with the jail break in exchange for the secret of his immortality. Buut, of course, he told me he had no clue on how he became the way he was, and told me to ask you! So here I am! You're supposed to tell me your secret. And I _was_ promised you'd tell me."

Alphonse groaned. "Yeah but, I don't exactly see how I have anything to do with it." Ling hummed to himself, sitting on the bed next to Emmi as it seemed like he let the conversation of immortality go for now.

"So this piece of info is supposed to be confidential, but, whatever. Barry told me that the Colonel has a plan to smoke out some military guys he's been after. The ones from the Fifth-something or other."

Emmi stiffened upon hearing that name. _There's that name again. The Fifth Laboratory._

"The Fifth Laboratory." Alphonse spoke the name as if it was cursed itself. Winry must have noticed their demiory, as she looked between Emmi and Alphonse with concern.

"Emmi? Al?" Alphonse stood, seriousness laced within his body.

"I gotta find it. This could lead us straight to the person who killed Lieutenant Hughes." Emmi quickly stood as well, with her brows furrowed and her fists clenched tightly.

"I'm going with you." Alphonse gave her a curt nod of agreement. Ling suddenly groaned out towards Alphonse. "Hey! Not so fast! Tell me your secret first!" Hearing the metal clank, Alphonse shifted his body towards the prince.

"I'll tell you when I get back, okay?"

"Awww come on! That's so unfair!" Ling whined, as Emmi and Al ignored him as Al turned back to Winry.

"We'll be back soon, Winry." Winry's eyes battered with concern, but she must have held in her doubts.

"Okay. Just be careful." Alphonse gave her a nod, while Emmi shot her a smile, before they turned and resided to the door.

 **Xxx**

Outside it was warm. The sun had begun to set, leaving the sky with an orange-pink hue that decorated most of the town in warm shadows. Alphonse and Emmi ran through the narrow alleyways until they had seemed to catch up to a black car. On the outside of the car, was a man dressed in black, with a mask covering his face to hide his identity. Alphonse had seemed to recognize him, as he began conversing with him.

"Are you going after Hughes's murderer?" When Emmi walked a couple of steps ahead of Alphonse to see who was in the car, she was surprised to see Colonel Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye in the car. Roy gave Alphonse a stern look, then Emmi, before speaking.

"You guys in?" Alphonse and Emmi exchanged a quick glance of acknowledgment, before a smirk pierced Emmi's face and a swift nod was given by Alphonse.

"Yeah!"

It didn't take long for them to be on the move, once again. Alphonse had managed to squish with the man named Jean Havoc into the small automobile that the Colonel owned, as they began driving through the narrow streets of Central. Emmi had decided to fly on the side of the car. She trusted the Colonel and Lieutenant Hawkeye. Besides, she would rather provide protection from the outside. They seemed to be working with a man who looked similar to Alphonse, in a hollow body, but he seemed to be some kind of serial sadist.

"So do you think we can expect another appearance from that blubber beast?" Riza spoke towards Roy, as she loaded her gun with more bullets.

"I doubt it. I scorched him off the ledge." Roy responded as he drove.

"Yeah, and I shot him in the head. But he didn't really seem to mind."

"Ah! He didn't have an ouroboros tattoo, did he?!" Alphonse gasped. Riza looked towards him in surprise before speaking up again.

"A tattoo? Actually, yeah. On his tongue."

"In that case, you were probably dealing with a homunculus." Sudden exchanges of concern were passed throughout the car, as the car suddenly shifted to the side, due to Roy's bad driving.

"Watch it, Mustang!" The crazed man with a giant clever yelled towards the car, which caused Emmi much confusion.

"Hold on a damn minute! What are you saying, Al?! That's just not possible!" Roy questioned the armored boy, who countered back.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Until I got _kidnapped_ by one. He called himself Greed. One thing he told me was that nothing is impossible. I know for a fact that they have amazing healing powers. I watched Greed get the top half of his head knocked off, but he was perfectly fine a minute later. They're real, alright. But I understand if you don't believe me."

"After what I just saw, I have to believe you." Riza spoke solemnly, before Roy spoke up as well.

"Hold on. I rendered fat boy bubbling puddle back there. You telling me that he's still alive?"

"Probably." Al's voice echoed within his armor quietly, as Roy grunted in frustration.

"Wonderful! It's just a never-ending parade of freaks lately, huh?"

 **Xxx**

It seemed like they had been driving forever, as it seemed like Emmi had been flying forever. The orange sky finally fell, and the cool dark night soon replaced it. When they finally stopped, Alphonse had gotten Emmi up to speed about the new Homunculus who had appeared and tried to kill Lieutenant Hawkeye and the others.

They made it to a large building, that was very tall and prominent. The six of them hid carefully by the gates of the building.

"My body went in there. It seems to think it can hide from me." The armored man known as Barry spoke, as they gazed upon the doors to see three men in lab coats standing at the outside of the door.

"The Third Laboratory, huh? So this ties them directly to the military." Roy spoke, then turned to the rest of the group. "That's all we need for now. We're pulling back." Barry ignored the Colonel's orders, as he simply turned and ran towards the Laboratory's doors. Havoc tried yelling at him to get him to come back, to no avail.

"That psycho stormed the building."

"Yeah? It's our lucky day." Roy smirked, and that's when the plan hit Emmi. Not a minute went by when Roy ordered them into the building, stating that they were catching a very dangerous criminal.

"All personnel must evacuate immediately!" Roy shouted towards the scientists and scared people in the hallways of the building. Alphonse seemed a little dumbfounded, while Emmi walked proudly with a dumb smile on her face. She couldn't help but be excited.

They turned the corner, and began walking down a pile of stairs that led to a dark basement. The basement was blocked off by a gated door, and when they broke through that door, they were greeted with a dark hallway.

"How the hell are we supposed to find him?" Havoc spoke with concern, as Roy looked between the two different ends of the building, before looking towards Riza and ordering to split up.

Jean and Roy went down one way, while Al, Emmi and Riza split up down another way. They were running down the hallway, when a sudden sound of an explosion echoed throughout the hallway. The three of them stopped when they felt the shaking.

"What was that?" Emmi asked with surprise, as Riza took a deep breath before she kept running. Al and Emmi exchanged a confused glance before they began following the Lieutenant.

They found themselves in a enormous, white room. In front of them was a giant door, that with some symbolic writing on it. That, however, was not what caught Emmi's attention. It was Barry, along with his old body, in the middle of the room. Barry's old body was covered in blood, on the floor, while Barry simply stood above it, staring down at his own body.

"Sorry. But you got here too late." Riza threw her hand over her mouth, probably due to the nauseating feeling churning in her stomach, as Emmi took a step back, not being able to stand the stench of the dead body. "Look at this mess. My body is damn near entirely decayed." Riza took a small step back, as Emmi's face scrunched up in disgust. Alphonse didn't seem affected by the smell, since he couldn't smell in the first place. "I guess a body just can't hold up with somebody's soul shoved up inside it."

Alphonse's gasped echoed throughout the hollow room. "If a soul isn't compatible with another person's body, wouldn't it be the same for a soul bonded to a suit of armor? If that's right, there's no guarantee that I'll be able to stay in this body long enough to get my body back." Before Emmi could say something reassuring to Al, the sound of footsteps echoed throughout the room, as she quickly turned around, and meeting the eyes of a woman. She wore a maroon dress, with long, black hair that spilled down to her thighs. She had an evil look to her eyes, as Riza had already aimed her gun at her.

"I was wondering when you were gonna show up, _Lusty."_ Barry's voice cackled at the entrance of the woman named Lust. Emmi noticed the ouroboros tattoo on her chest, and immediately knew that they were dealing with a homunculus.

"Number 66, care to explain why you're helping the Colonel?" Barry swung his clever and rested it on his shoulder.

"I thought it'd be fun to switch things up! Besides, I've wanted to chop you up since I met you." He aimed his clever at Lust, with a menacing rumble apparent with his voice.

"You're such a handful, 66. And I'm sad to see you here, armored boy." Lust motioned towards Al. "You just had to tag along. Talk about a setback. It's bad enough to lose one, but now I'm forced to kill a second candidate." Lust raised her voice in frustration, before she set her eyes to Emmi. Her red eyes narrowed towards Emmi's dark ones, as Lust took a step forward.

"And _you_. You must be the one Greed spoke about. A girl with magic powers." Upon hearing that statement, Emmi took a step in front of Alphonse, and lifted her arm, and dark energy engulfed her arm completely.

"It seems he was right." Lust's voice was cold, and intimidating. But before Emmi had a chance to speak, Barry soon spoke up loudly behind her.

"That's enough of the chit chat! All I want to hear from you is screaming!" Barry lunged at Lust, his cleaver high in the air as he was ready to swing down. And as he came closer to deal his move, in the span of seconds, his body shattered into pieces, right before Emmi's eyes. Lust's fingers became blades, slicing Barry into pieces.

"I do hate overconfident men. Now then, where were we?" Lust gestured towards the three of them. "I think I was about to send the Lieutenant to join her superior." Emmi's eyes widened, as she understood what that meant. It took Riza a couple of seconds, but when she figured out what the Homunculus had meant, her grip on her gun tightened as she began to shake. The echoes of Lust's footsteps began louder and louder each step she took closer and closer.

"Wait a minute. When you said that she already had to kill someone… It can't be… You didn't!" Riza's voice trembled, as it hit Emmi.

 _She killed Roy._

Lust's smirk turned into a full grin, before Riza's eyes filled with hatred.

"You _biitch!_ " A loud ring of gunfire echoed through the room, as bullet, after bullet, after bullet, connected with Lust's body, along with the loud screams from the Lieutenant. The bullets pushed Lust back, as many bullet hole had become prominent on her body. The room was filled with Riza's sobs as she had ran out of bullets in her guns, and her arms dropped in defeat. When Riza had realized that she had run out of bullets, tears coated her eyes as a river of her tears fell down her cheeks. Riza fell to the ground, choked sobs and tears leaving her body as Lust healed quickly, her fingers becoming blades as she got closer and closer to Riza.

"Such a sad and weak creature. Another typical weak human." Alphonse and Emmi stood in front of Riza, with Emmi's arms engulfed in dark energy while Alphonse stood in a protective stance.

"Stand up, Lieutenant. You need to get out of here." Alphonse commanded Riza.

"Do you want me to kill you first, then?" Alphonse clapped, and the room changed into a blue light, as he had transmuted a sword from the ground.

"Oh my. It has appeared you opened the portal." Lust spoke as her fingers grew bigger, before taking a swift swing at Alphonse's sword as it fell apart in pieces. Lust then took that moment, and charged at Al, with her fingers elongating quickly. Emmi quickly took action, and she hovered in front of Al's face, with her arms in the form of an 'X'. They were engulfed in dark energy, so Lust's fingers shattered like glass. Her eyes widened just slightly, before her other hand elongated quickly, with the sharp shards headed towards the Lieutenant. Alphonse moved his arm in front of it, stopping Lust's sharp blades from piercing Riza.

"Listen Alphonse. Emmi. Leave me and save yourselves."

"No." Alphonse quickly countered.

"Run!" Riza's shaky voice ordered, but Emmi quickly shook her head.

"We won't!" Emmi yelled back, as she could practically hear more tears running down the Lieutenant's cheeks as she yelled again.

"Go!"

"We won't leave you!" Alphonse shouted back, as Lust scowled in front of the display. "I'm sick of watching people die! I won't sit back and watch it happen anymore! I won't let anyone else get killed! Not when I can protect them!" Lust swung her arm up, causing Al's arm to rip and break into pieces, and hit the floor behind them.

"I'm with you, Alphonse." Emmi spoke, with seriousness laced in every fiber of her body.

"Well spoken! I couldn't agree more." A deep voice echoed throughout the room. Emmi's eyes widened at seeing the owner of the voice, as well as everyone in that room. Emmi's eyes landed on the lighter in the man's hand and she only had seconds to act, as she removed her arms from their stance and shifted the dark energy to her hands, before lifting them quickly, creating a dark shield of energy engulfing her, Alphonse, and Lieutenant Hawkeye. Alphonse seem to understand what Emmi was doing, as he quickly grabbed Riza, and held her tightly in a protective way. As soon as her shield was built, a blast of fire attacked Lust, causing her agonizing screams to echo throughout the room.

"Looks like I can get you on your knees, after all!" Roy Mustang's voice echoed angrily, as a spark went by before Lust was engulfed in flames once again. "You told me I couldn't kill you! But I'd like to prove you wrong!" A snap of the lighter echoed before Lust's screams of agonizing pain did. Over and over, Roy torched the Homunculus, until a final scream and blast of fire seemed to be the last one. The room began quiet, only for a second, before Lust burst from the smoke, in a terrifying scream, lunging at Roy, before he snapped the lighter one last time.

Lust's body began to disintegrate, as she whispered a couple of words.

"You killed me. I hate losing. But there are worst ways to die than at the hands of a man like you. I love how cold and focused your eyes are. I look forward… to the day when those are will be wide with agony." And with those words, Lust's body fell into a pile of dust, with a soft breeze blowing it away.

Roy grunted, and fell to the ground in pain. Emmi quickly took her shield down, as Riza yelled for her superior.

"Are you alright?" Roy asked Riza with a small smile on his face.

"Forget about me! We need to get you some help!" Riza spoke to him with beads of tears at the corners of her eyes. Roy turned his head towards Alphonse and the Emmi.

"Thanks, Alphonse. Emmi. Thank you for looking after my subordinate."

"Yeah, sure! We need to call you a doctor!"

"Heh, yeah, hurry." Roy groaned out, "Call a doctor for Havoc. Please"

 **Xxx**

They had finally made it back to the hotel. It was pretty late, and when they arrived, Winry had been sitting on the steps of the entrance of the hotel.

The sounds of Alphonse's armor clanking must've alarmed her, because she quickly looked to the source of the noise. Winry quickly ran up to the two, and concern was then plastered on her face when she saw the appearance of Al and Emmi. Emmi wasn't hurt too bad, only a couple of scratches, but most dirt and soot all over her clothes and face. Alphonse had it pretty bad, however. He was missing his jaw, and his part of his hand.

"Uh, hey." Alphonse greet the blonde girl.

"Hiya, Winry." Emmi greeted with a lopsided grin. Winry looked like she was going to cry, but gulped it down as she began yelling.

"You idiots! Welcome back!" She spoke pretty aggressively, scaring Emmi and Al.

"U-uh, thanks! U-um.." Winry's face of anger subsided into a face of sadness, as tears began pooling in her eyes. To Emmi's surprise, Winry begun laughing, to which she and Al begun to laugh as well, quite nervously. Alphonse shifted his arm to awkwardly rub his head, before his whole arm fell off.

"That shouldn't happen!" Winry's voice shouted in concern.

"It won't stay! I can't put it back on!" Alphonse responded in panic and worry.

"Hehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!" Emmi soon snorted, with a rumbling laughter consuming her body as her laughter echoed over the night sky.

"Emmi! This is no time for laughter!"


	7. Father Before the Grave

"Woooooaaah! So you don't sleep or eat? You don't even run out of breath!" Ling spoke with curiosity laced in his voice, like a child. They had been resting in their hotel room for the past couple of hours, with Al's beaten up body and Emmi's cuts and bruises.

"Uh huh! I just have to make sure the seal doesn't get harmed." Alphonse confirmed, with Ling practically bouncing with excitement.

"That's so cool! You really are immortal, huh?" Emmi could practically hear Al frowning upon Ling's response.

"No I'm not. This body… It's like a time bomb." Winry gasped quietly, as Al kept going. "Barry mentioned something, and it got me thinking. That any type of body is incompatible with foreign soul. Pairing them together, the body will eventually reject the soul. It could happen tomorrow. Or ten years from now. But it's inevitable that it will.

"Oh no…" Winry said with her voice shaky from panic. "Al, we gotta get you back in your regular body!"

"Well, hold on." Ling then spoke, cutting Winry off. "If it's about to give out on you, couldn't you transfer your soul into another object? Cuz if that's the case, you're impervious to pain and you don't have to eat! It sounds like a great deal to me!" Emmi herself frowned upon Ling's response. His ignorance to Al's situation caused a reaction in Winry to spark, as she stood with an angry look on her face.

"No it isn't! You don't know what you're talking about!" The room went quiet as everyone stared at Winry's outburst, before Emmi put her hand on Winry's wrist in a calming way. Winry gasped slightly, before looking towards the ground and muttering a quick 'sorry' before leaving the room.

Winry had resided herself in her hotel room, face down in the bed with the calm moonlight creeping into the room. Alphonse and Emmi decided to talk to her, to see how she's doing. Alphonse was the one to knock.

"Winry? We're coming in!" The two walked over to the bed, with Emmi's arms crossed in front of her and Al's hands on his metallic hips.

"You know, you and brother are always the first to explode. I never get the chance to get mad." Alphonse spoke with a playful voice, as Winry took a moment before turning her head towards the two.

"It's just...well…" Her mind seemed to drift elsewhere, making her sad as tears welled in her eyes before she sat up, grabbing a pillow and squeezing it tightly. "Just promise me you'll get your body back! Emmi, you gotta help him! ...Okay?"

Alphonse was quiet, as Emmi smiled, before embracing Winry in a reassuring hug. "I promise, Winry. Don't worry." Winry looked towards Emmi with teary eyes, and seeing Emmi's smile made her feel a little better, so she returned it with a small one.

* * *

"...WHAT THE HEEEELLLLLL?!" Edward's voice shrieked throughout the entire hotel. A day had passed, and as it fell towards night time again, the four of them had been greeted once again by Ed's presence, who had not bieen expecting what he'd walked in on. "Wha…?! How…?! How are you _this_ beat up?!" Ed's hardcore reaction made Emmi bust into a fit of giggles which caused him to turn his outburst out on her.

"W..WHY THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING?!" Emmi grinned widely as her giggles didn't stop, before Ed then looked at Ling and Lan Fan, who were currently shoveling their faces with room service food.

"AND YOU…! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"...eating a delicious dinner…?" Ling managed to say with food piled in his mouth. The answer resulted in the two of them being literally thrown out of the room, as Edward angrily slammed the door.

"Seriously?! How did this happen to you?!" Edward's brotherly worry echoed throughout the room, as Alphonse sighed, before beginning to explain the situation.

…

"A homunculus, and Barry the Chopper. And just to throw a cherry on top you find out your body might reject your soul…!" Edward restated, before he clapped his hands together to fix Al's armor.

"I'm gonna have to extend what little you have left to your armor." Edward spoke as he begun fixing Al up, and when he was done took a finished look of Al's body. Alphonse begun flexing his metal arms, and moving them around to make sure they were in good condition.

"Ed…? You'll be able to get his body back right?" Winry's unconfident voice perked up towards Ed.

"Yeah of course he will! I told you I was gonna get it back." Edward's face was contorted in determination as Winry sighed, like that one comment was what she needed for reassurance.

Edward sighed tiredly, as he took a seat on the small sofa before speaking up again.

"Al… I gotta tell you something. I dug up the body we buried in Resembol." Alphonse gasped, as Winry's eyes went wide, and Emmi stood with a curious look on her face.

It took Al a couple of moments to completely react, before he stood quickly. "What?! Why would you do that?!"

"Because Al. I found out that the thing we buried wasn't really our mother." Alphonse stared at his brother before his legs seemed to go weak and he fell back into a seat.

"But…! Hold on a minute..! Then that means…!"

"I don't know what… But the thing we made was completely different."

"But if it wasn't, then what happened to me?!"

"That's just it. This has actually convinced me that we can return you to normal."

"Really?" Emmi chimed in.

"Ed are you sure?" Winry also spoke as Edward gave them a sturdy nod before speaking again.

"Yeah, but before I start explaining it…" Ed's face contorted into embarrassment rather quickly, as his cheek began to blossom. "Well, uh, Winry? Do you remember when Al and I got into a fight about...eh… would marry you?" Emmi was immediately intrigued.

"Marry? This just got interesting." Emmi spoke mischievously, as Ed glared at her.

"Quiet, you!"

"The fight we were talking about on the roof?" Alphonse confirmed, as Edward quickly agreed.

"Al told me you turned him down." Winry nodded with a innocent face.

"Mmhm. Turned you both down."

"Oof… Ouch!" Emmi teased as Ed shot her another glare.

"Whatever. So the questions for both of you then. What was your reasoning?"

Alphonse and Winry both turned towards each other as Alphonse begun to answer.

"She said...I just don't like men who are shorter than me." Edward fell into a ghastly yell, as Emmi burst into laughter.

"You can't judge a man for something he can't help!"

"Short men…! That's too good, Winry!" Emmi felt tears in her eyes from how hard she was laughing.

"Why you!" He shouted before grabbing Emmi in a choke hold, with his right arm gripped firmly against her neck.

"H-hey… L-let go!"

"I don't see how this has anything to do with getting Al's body back." Winry continued, as Edward loosened his grip on Emmi but still held her in the same position before speaking again.

"I had to be sure. Al had a memory of something that I don't recall. And you seem to remember the same way, Winry. Which means that it happened without a doubt. So now that we know you remembered something real, we also know for a fact that that really is Al bonded in there. I pulled you out Al. I did it. I know it's only a soul, but that's just it. If I was able to pull that much of you out, then I got a hunch that your body is still in there, and I can pull it out."

"You think my body is still in the portal? Existing separately from my soul? ...like Barry's body!" Alphonse came to a sudden realization as he shouted that last part. Edward let go of Emmi as he walked up to Alphonse and gave his armor a quick tap with his metal fist.

"Right! What did you see? Try to think back! Can you remember what happened when the Truth unraveled you?"

' _Truth…?'Why does that sound familiar?'_ Emmi's thought chimed in upon hearing the name, as Alphonse spoke again.

"I reached out. And it was me! It was my hand I grabbed!"

Edward bursted into a confident smirk as he tightened his fist.

"I knew it! Looks like we aren't done with the Truth yet, Al! We're gonna get in there and pull your body out!"

"Brother… After the portal, I remember looking at you from inside that thing. The thing we thought was Mom!"

"Are you… you were inside of it? That thing was you!"

"I guess so! But my soul didn't bind. It must've rejected me right away! So that means, we didn't harm anyone else's soul after all!" Not a minute passed before a soft knock was heard on the door of the hotel room. Emmi walked towards, and opened it to be greeted by one of the hotel workers, claiming that Edward had a telephone call from a woman named Izumi Curtis.

Alphonse followed Edward down to the lounge as Emmi waited a moment before following as well. She walked down the hallway and down a flight of stairs before she heard the voices of the Elric brothers.

"...ought it was me who killed Mom." She heard Alphonse's voice. "I thought I was the one who killed Mom a second time."

"So did I, Al." Edward's voice was next, as Emmi stood by the wall and listened carefully, deciding right now wasn't the moment to step into the conversation. Emmi heard Al's metallic body clank as he must've moved a part of his body, before his shaky voice made Emmi's heart drop.

"Thank you, brother. Thank you. I wasn't the one who killed Mom after all…!"

"But still, none of this changes anything. I'm the one that put you in that body. I don't care what it takes, I'm gonna make you normal again-"

"Brother!" Edward was cut off by Al's quick retaliation. "I was right there with you and I knew that there were risks. So quit trying to shoulder all of this on your own! I can't watch you suffer like this. Not on your own. I can't just stand back and watch other people get hurt over what I've done! Like what happened to Mr. Hughes! I felt like it was my fault when I found out he was dead. And I told myself that if it meant other people getting hurt then I don't even want my body back." There was a short pause between the two, before Alphonse captured his composure and spoke again. "Brother. I've met other people who weren't exactly human. But they still managed to live their lives with purpose. And even in this body, it hasn't stopped anybody from treating me like I'm still human. This body can reject me anytime, but it's the same with being human. You never know when you're gonna get sick or die in a accident. So I can still get by like this. I can live a somewhat normal life. And that's how I've managed to keep going. But now… I can't take it anymore! Because… I can't… I can't take all the nights by myself!" Emmi smiles softly hearing Alphonse's words, as he spoke once more.

"It's too lonely! And that's why I have to get back to normal." Emmi could hear Ed's smiling.

"Sure. You're going to!" Emmi couldn't help it, and as her face turned into a big grin she quickly turned the corner and practically jumped down the stairs to reach Ed and Al.

"Hell yeah you are! I'll be there to make sure it happens!" Emmi cheered, as she hooked her arm around Ed's neck with the biggest grin possible.

"Emmi?! When'd you get here?!" Edward's voice collided with her own, but in a more inviting way than usual.

"I was listening the whole time! You are my partners after all!" She could feel Al's smile, as well as Ed's determined grin plastered on his face as he vigorously rubbed Emmi's head before pounding up the stairs, with the two following.

"We're gonna knock that Truth jerk on his butt! And then we're gonna pull your body right outta that place!"

"Yeah!" Alphonse agreed confidently.

"Hell yeah! This is exciting!" Emmi cheered as they turned the corner of the hallway and walked confidently and swiftly down the hall, with a determined mission in mind.

* * *

 _Hi everyon, welcome back! I am so so so so so sosososososososososo sorry for taking foreverrrrr to post a new chapter; school was really busy during that time and now that it's summer, more is coming!_

 _Things are about to get pretty interesting, so stay tuned for that!_

 _I also would like to apologize for such a short chapter; I was going to make it wayyyy longer (like combined three episodes in one chapter), but I figured it had been so long and that you guys would want a new chapter ASAP. I promise the next chapter will be waaaay longer, better, and more exciting._

 _Anyway, thank you for being so patient, and I hope you have a wonderful day!_

 _:)_


	8. AotF BitD

"...what if I've started to rot?" Alphonse's voice echoed in worry, causing the Ed, Winry and Emmi to turn to the metal boy, with a deadpan expression.

"...huh?"

"My body probably isn't getting any nutrients! Or any sleep either! So even if we get it back from over there…" He shuddered from the thought, visibly shaking.

Is he right, Ed?" Winry's concern surfaced as well, while Ed sighed before speaking.

"Now, this is just a hypothesis, but I was thinking about the transmutation and the process. Remember how we mixed our blood to create a blueprint for Mom's soul?" He asked Al, as a weight pushed on his voice that Emmi couldn't help but notice.

"Yeah."

"And after that we passed through the portal, but we were both reconstructed. It's a slim chance, but maybe our spirits got mixed up in the process."

"So you think you're bodies are connected somehow?" Emmi questioned, as Ed nodded and continued.

"Even though I'm here and your body is over there. See, that my actually explain why I'm so sho-" Ed paused, with the room getting quiet. The air was still, before Emmi snickered under her breath. Ed's eye twitched, an unruly smile piercing his face before he began stuttering.

"Sh...sho...rt." Emmi began chuckling, as Ed seemed to crumble in the corner of the hotel room while Alphonse and Winry were muttering quietly to themselves.

"So, you think you've been supplying nutrients to Al's body too? That seems kinda far-fetched." Winry questioned as well.

"What's your explanation?!" Ed growled, while Emmi perked up next to Winry.

"You're so short because you never drink your milk." Emmi said as she shook her head in agreement to her own statement.

"That's definitely true." Winry agreed.

"Don't start with that again!"

"You need milk in your bones to grow!" Winry argued back, with their voices rising again.

"Will you drop it already?!"

"I will when you start drinking it!"

"It's not gonna happen! No! No! No!" Ed and Winry went back and forth—yelling while Emmi sat quiet on the couch with a smile on her face before she noticed that Alphonse had gotten pretty quiet, before a soft chuckle escaped his metallic body.

 _I wonder what he's thinking._

With a quick goodbye and a short walk, Emmi and the brothers found themselves at Central's hospital, the emblem of the dog exposed proudly at the front of the building. Although she had been there before, she could not help but be amazed at the size of the place, along with the architecture. She found it eye-capturing, but there was still something that she could not place—something... _off._ Like there was something hidden in the shadows.

"Are you here to visit the Colonel?" Kain Fuery spoke, as he guided them through the hallway.

"We figures we should pay our respects. We definitely owe it to the Colonel. He saved Emmi and me at the last second." Emmi nodded with a smile as she replied.

"That was definitely a close one." The hallway was quiet, except for their footsteps before Ed broke the silence.

"Are you also here for a visit?" His question directed towards Fuery, who held up a rolled paper with a excited smirk on his face.

"And with a little present!" They reached the hospital room, immediately being greeted by the Colonel and Riza, along with introductions for Emmi and Havoc.

"...I counted the number of steps it took to get to the basement under the third laboratory. And I was able to relay the approximate location of that doorway." Riza reported, recounting the night of the third laboratory incident while Roy looked over a map that was brought by Fuery. "It's not exact as the hallway curved, but I was able to deduce a radius of the lab and the center." A sudden realization must have sparked in Ed's mind, as his eye widened.

"This is Central Command! And that's not even the most alarming…"

"That's the presidential estate! Right above where we found the Homunculi!" Alphonse finished, Emmi looking towards him.

"Which means there's a very real possibility the Fuhrer is connected to them." Roy theorized, causing a heavy air to settle into the hospital room.

"Why would he kill Greed and his group if he's connected to them?" Emmi asked, as Ed added to it.

"It's strange he killed them anyway. Why would he slaughter them before interrogating them?"

"It's strange all right. Damn, that's scrubbable." Emmi felt a shift, and looked towards Havoc, who was laying on his bed on his side of the room, with a solemn look on his face as he gazed out the window. She felt a certain pull, as she took quiet steps toward him.

She could still hear Roy speaking, but it fell to the back of her mind as she held out her hand over Havoc's body, and felt energy wrap around her hand as darkness warmed her hand. Havoc must have felt a presence next to him as he turned, looking from her hand to his legs in confusion.

Emmi didn't spare him a glance, just focused her energy on his legs, which she assumed was the problem. _Maybe I could try this…?_

Her gaze hardened, as she focused intently.

"...uhh, Colonel? What's she doing?" The room shifted to her, as they had just noticed that Emmi had walked to Havoc.

"Emmi! Come on, we're leaving." Edward called out, as Emmi blinked and dropped her focus as the darkness dissipated from her hand. She looked to Havoc and smiled.

"Hope you feel better soon!" Before she turned away, her ponytail whipping her in the face as she dashed out of the room to catch up with Edward and Alphonse who had already walked out.

"She's such a positive girl. How'd she get mixed in with those two?" Roy questioned, as Riza took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure. But she sure does know how to fight. I wonder where she learned that?" Roy shifted to Havoc, whose eyes were wide in shock.

"Havoc? What's wrong? Should we call the nurse?" Havoc's gaze shifted to Roy's, and as he seemed to be shook out of his gaze.

"No. I'm just...feeling a little better."

The night settled in quickly, filling the sky with darkness and light stars, and a shifting breeze with the echoing of nearby crickets. The trio had decided to pursue their own research, with Edward vowing to get the information he needed from the laboratory. With Emmi sitting on the concrete and Alphonse waiting by a long fence, they sat in silence until they heard Ed's footsteps. Emmi was up quickly.

"Did you get it?" Edward waved a scrap of paper in front of her.

"Easy, I just told them I was a state alchemist and they let me right in with no questions asked."

"Did you find the basement?" Alphonse's voice echoed from inside his armor, as Ed's face hardened as he looked off in the distance.

"There wasn't one. I saw a trace of some hasty alchemy—figures they would try and seal up the entrance."

"How are we gonna find a homunculus if we can't get down there?" Alphonse asked, as they began walking down the street.

"I'm not sure. Remember how they told me I was their sacrifice? That they needed me alive?" Edward spoke, directing it to his brother.

"They told me that too. Lust told me that when she found out I opened the portal."

"That's one piece of the puzzle. They're looking for alchemists who opened up the portal and made it back out alive. But the real question is why they want to sacrifice us. So we'll have to beat an answer out of them." Emmi looked towards Ed, who had a fierce look on his face, and a thought crossed her mind before a voice yelled out in the distance.

"Edward!" The hurried footsteps of a certain man dashed towards the three of them, with closer inspection it was a man that Emmi recognized from Central Command.

"Sergeant Brosh? What's wrong?" Edward stepped towards the man who delivered him such concern.

"I've been looking everyone for you!" He places his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Why don't you slow down and tell me what's going on?" Brosh extended a paper out to him, with a serious look on his face.

"Go back to your hotel right now!" Ed opened the paper, with Emmi and Alphonse leaning in to read it as well. "I can escort you if you want me too!"

As Emmi read the paper, the same expression was shared between the three of them. Her heart quickened, as she read of a man named Scar, who had already killed three people. It explained that he was an Ishvalan, with a scar on his face along with tattoos on his right arm. The letter warned of how extremely dangerous this man is, but for Ed, it seemed more personal.

"A tattoo… It was him." Ed muttered to himself, a sharp hate spreading across his face.

"So this Scar… killed Winry's parents?" Emmi tried to understand, and felt a deep hurt settle into her heart for Winry.

"I can't say for certain, but that's the way it looks." Edward answered, as Alphonse spoke up.

"Poor Winry. Brother, you weren't planning on telling her, were you?"

"Of course not. I couldn't stand to be the one to make her cry again." Emmi's gaze shifted towards the window, watching the smoke drift into the air.

"Neither could I." The room went quiet for a few seconds, as Emmi spoke before she could stop herself.

"You know, maybe we could try to lure out the homunculi." She knew the sudden thought was random, but Edward's gold eyes fell to her, as he nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing. And we could do it by confronting Scar." Alphonse gasped, looking between the two of them as Ed turned to his brother.

"They need us alive for our sacrifice, don't they? So I don't they'd be willing to stand by as Scar kills us."

"But what about Emmi? She's not apart of their plans, she could easily be killed!" Emmi smirked as she stood.

"Don't worry about me, Alphonse. I'm not gonna be killed easily." Edward's gaze hardened towards her, as a subtle agreement passed through the two of them as Alphonse's concern still resonated.

"Still, it's a pretty big gamble."

"It's better than doing nothing!" Edward voice raised, as Alphonse countered it.

"Oh really? Because Scar literally tore us apart last time." Edward sweatdropped, stuttering out a response.

"W-well...we've gotten stronger in these last few months. A-and now we got Emmi here to help us!" Emmi nodded excitedly, as Alphonse hovered over Ed's body.

"And what about the homunculi? What if they do show up? How are you gonna catch one?! They're super strong and pretty much can't die!" The curtain shifted by the window as a certain voice perked up from the side.

" _Can't_ die?! Was that hyperbole?" Came from the Xingese prince, and from his trusty bodyguard.

"Or are they actually immortal?"

The room got quiet, the three of them staring at Ling and Lan Fan, for a couple of seconds before Emmi broke the silence.

"You guys should really lock your windows."

 _ **x**_

"Count us in! We'd love to help you guys!" Ling spoke cheerfully, as Ed, Alphonse and Emmi sat across from Ling and Lan Fan.

"Why's that?" Edward questioned, with an even bigger smile radiating from Ling.

"I can't say I care about the military stuff, but it sounds like these homunculi are _just_ what we've been looking for!" Edward's face contorted into skepticism, as he leaned forward and spoke.

"Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the help you've already given, but this-" Ling cut him off.

"You got better odds with more help. I'm serious about this. This could be what helps our clan." Edward looked to Ling for any doubt or reluctance on his face, and when he got none, his face broke into a smirk.

"All right then. Just remember, we're in this together."

"I promise not to run off with them. I owe you that much."

"What for?" Ed asked, as Ling reached into his pocket and pulled out a lengthy thin paper. It took Emmi only a second to realize that it was the room service receipt from when they stuffed themselves full.

"I-is this the _room service?!_ YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT YOU OWE ME!" Edward screeched before he proceeded to literally throw Ling and Lan Fan out of the window. The door behind them slammed opened, with a bursting air bouncing throughout the room as Winry's voice screeched as well.

"CAN YOU GUYS SHUT UP?! DO YOU KNOW HOW EARLY I HAVE TO WAKE UP TOMORROW?!"

"Hi Winry!" Emmi greeted with a smile, as Ed and Alphonse turned to the annoyed girl.

"O-oh hey Winry! Sorry I forgot—you're catching an early train to Rushva-!" Ed gasped suddenly, an image popping up in his mind as he started sweating.

"You know what? Why don't you stick around and relax?" Winry tilted her head to the side in confusion as Ed rubbed the back of his head. "I mean...there's always a chance my arm could get broken, or destroyed…" A swift smack on the head with her wrench caused a bloody pool to form around Ed's body.

"Are you planning on destroying it?! ...I can't believe you. Just promise you won't do anything dangerous." Winry sighed, as the three of them stared at her in surprise. Emmi chuckled.

"We _definitely_ can't pro-!" She began to speak, before two metallic hands clasped around her mouth to shut her up before the two brothers spoke in unison.

"We promise!"

"That's my livelihood you idiot!"

"I'm sorry, sir!"

"Well, sorry's not gonna cut it! What do you plan to do to fix it?!"

"Looks like _you_ could use some help! It's a good thing I happened by, Edward Elric, state alchemist at large!" The next day, the trio found themselves in the middle of a busy street, full of people, vendors, and shopkeepers. The plan was to lure Scar out to them, but to do that Edward needed to make a big entrance.

He clapped his hands together with a goofy face, immediately fixing the man's food stand and the man's car that had crashed into it.

"Wow! That's amazing!"

"Thank you very much, sir! Please, you have to let me pay you!" The man suggested.

"Pay me? That's not necessary but thank you!"

He moved on to helping a lady with her broken vase, a man with his cane, a broken foundation of a home, a baby carriage, making a scene to catch Scar's attention.

"I'm pretty sure everyone in Central knows my name by now." Edward chuckled, confidence laced in his voice.

"Well you were a little over the top." Alphonse replied, with Emmi chuckling. A familiar black car rode beside them, and when the window rolled down Emmi was not surprised to see Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye.

"When did you become so theatrical, Fullmetal?"

"Colonel? Shouldn't you still be in the hospital?" Ed spoke, standing from his seat.

"Probably." Edward shuffled to the car.

"I heard about Lieutenant Havoc. I'm sure Doctor Marcoh would-"

"Hold on." Roy cut him off discreetly. "People are watching us. Let's go." They moved to a secluded alleyway, with shadows hiding them. Riza patrolled alleyway, with a gun in her hand as she kept watch.

"Thanks to your friend, Havoc has a chance of walking again. He's out for now though." Roy announced, causing Ed and Al to look towards Emmi.

"I'm grateful to you, Emmi. Whatever you did helped." Emmi felt a slight heat rise in her cheeks as she nodded excitedly.

"You mean, Emmi healed him?" Edward tried to confirm, as Roy shook his head.

"Not totally. We would still need Dr. Marcoh's help. The problem is that Dr. Marcoh is missing."

"He's missing?" Edward inquired, as Roy nodded slightly.

"They probably took him captive. There's something else we need to talk about." Edward shifted to Roy, eyebrows furrowing since he knew exactly what he was going to say. "I'm sure you've heard that Scar's back. So what's with the showboating? You want him to find you?"

"Yeah that's exactly it. I need to fight him but you can't talk me out of it."

"Have you lost your mind?! Did you forget the way he tore you apart in East City?!"

"Ooooh! The Colonel's scared of big bad Scar! I'm not surprised considering how useless you were against him!" Edward yelled in a condescending voice, causing Emmi to giggle before she felt a shift in the wind and a spark of energy dash around her.

"That wasn't my fault it was raining that day!"

"Hey, Al…" Emmi called out, looking towards the distance of the alleyway as her eyes landed on a figure standing and watching them. Alphonse's eyes fell to her as she lifted her hand to point. "Is that him?" Hawkeye's gun clicked off of the safety, causing both Ed and Roy to look in the direction of her gun.

The man named Scar was much more menacing and intimidating then she had ever thought a person could be. A darkness loomed over him as he stood with long coat draped around his body and a pair of sunglasses shielding his eyes, but the scar was still visible. A large X shaped scar over most of his forehead and down his face, and Emmi could not help but shudder at the sight of him.

"Looks like he got your invite." Roy spoke, a grimacing smile on both his face and Ed's, as Al and Emmi took a aggressive stance.

"You okay? You'd think it was raining the way your forehead is dripping." Ed taunted, as Roy's eyebrow twitched. Hawkeye aimed her gun at Scar, before Edward moved his body in front of hers to stop her from firing.

"Don't shoot, Lieutenant!"

"What?! You can't be serious!" Riza fought back, as Edward's golden eyes hardened before a sharp smile warped on his face.

"I'm trying out the Colonel's sport." Edward spoke before he gave Emmi a tap on the shoulder, and she knew exactly what to do. Scar moved quick, a blue static engulfing his arm before he shoved it to the ground, rupturing the ground as Ed and Emmi moved. Alphonse was quick to provide a wall of alchemy to guard the Roy and Riza.

Ed and Emmi jumped as the ground ruptured, and Emmi shot out to Scar, her fists engulfed in darkness as she swung at him, who quite easily dodged, as he moved to grab her, she wrapped her body in darkness before jumping back as Ed clapped his hands to form a shooting wall of alchemy at Scar, just like how he did.

In a matter of seconds, Alphonse ran to the two, as he must've finished explaining the plan to Roy before Ed and Al both clapped their hands in unison, shooting out transmuted rocks in Scar's direction. Scar dodged it easily, but was surprised when Emmi jumped as well—a fist engulfed in darkness once again as she hardened it and swung down, catching Scar in the chest as he shot to the ground from the impact of the hit. His body slammed to the ground, causing a divet in the ground as he shot back up quickly.

"Nice, Emmi!" Edward cheered, bracing himself as Scar ran towards him quickly—he was much faster than Emmi imagined. Edward and Alphonse has quick reflexes, clapping their hands together as a shot of blue echoed through their hands before forming a shooting wall once again, as Scar crushed it with his hand.

Emmi could hear many footsteps from behind them, turning to see the Military Police with their guns up ready to fire.

"Get out of the way! We need a clear shot!" Emmi raised her hands wildly, as Alphonse and Edward were in the middle of fighting with Scar behind her.

"Don't shoot! You'll hit my friends!" She commanded before rushing back to the two brothers, jumping as Scar was preoccupied with Edward, as she wrapped the dark energy around her feet and shooting down, knocking Scar in the back as he stumbled, giving Edward a chance to create some space between the two. Scar retaliated fast, summoning a wall of rocks in a matter of seconds. Ed and Emmi dodged the main attack, but she winced when a sharp rock scraped her arm, causing blood to spill out her arm. Edward felt the same too, as a rock landed on his head causing blood to spill down his face. Emmi dodged as Scar jumped towards them again, while Edward shifted his alchemy to his arm as Scar did as well, and they canceled each other out.

Not a moment later when she felt a shift in her heart—a dark feeling that she felt when she came to Central. A strange presence, one that she could never forget, nor anything that she had ever felt before in her life. She could feel it coming, but she knew that Ling and Lan Fan would provide them cover. The fight between Scar, and her and the brothers continued, with Scar being an opponent that Emmi had underestimated. He was quick, and strong, and Emmi was able to put a decent defense against him, but was taking some hits in the process. She knew that Ed was getting worried-she was wondering the same as well: _How much longer can we hold him off?_

Large crashes and rumbles were echoing loudly throughout the alleyway that they were fighting, with the three of them dodging attack after attack, losing energy. Ed and Emmi were both running in the same direction, as Ed clapped his hands together and illuminated blue lightning as he shot sharp rocks from the walls as an obstacle, as Scar quickly ran through them using his alchemy, charging straight at them. Emmi could feel the dark energy humming in her, as Ed ran past her in a way to escape she stood and braced herself, wrapping her energy around her hand and as Scar threw his open hand towards her she did the same, causing a sharp rumble in the alleyway. He was stronger than her, however, and his alchemy tore through her energy as she was thrown back where Ed was. Emmi screamed in pain, but was quick to get up as Scar was not going to stop. _How'd he do that? No one has ever broken through my energy like that!_

She jumped out of the way right in time, as Scar watched her leap over her and grunted in annoyance, before his sight was set on Ed climbing the pipe alongside the concrete wall. Edward was quick—climbing it almost to the very top before Scar used his alchemy to break it along the bottom, causing the pipe to have no foundation and Ed to come flying backwards. He screamed in fear, with Scar readied at the bottom. Alphonse was quick as well, forming an alchemy hand catching his brother.

"Whew! Nice one, brother! I appreciate it!" Edward exclaimed with almost happy tears in his eyes.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Alphonse shouted, before Scar readied his hand again and attacked the hand that Ed was on, causing it to crumble as Alphonse ran towards Emmi, who was back a little farther than them. They needed to escape—there was no way they could beat Scar in a fight. In the midst of chaos, they suddenly had him cornered, with Edward on his right, Alphone on his left, and Emmi in front of them, all ready to attack or defend themselves. They were breathing heavy, and Emmi could feel herself getting weaker from all the energy that she had been using. Emmi could hear Alphonse's armor shift before he began to address Scar.

"Scar! You say you believe that alchemists have defied God, but isn't that hypocritical? You use alchemy just like we do!" There was a short pause before Scar spoke.

"I explained it when we were in East City. It's balance, with our creators there must be a destroyer." His dark voice said, giving Emmi a chill down her spine.

"That's a lie! You're using the name of your God to justify murder! Revenge is all you care about!" Alphonse's breath became slightly shaky. "When you killed Shou Tucker and Nina… I suppose you thought you were doing God's work there, too!" Scar's gaze shifted from Alphonse to Emmi, then at Ed's.

"Interesting. You saw that abomination as well, didn't you? Alchemy created that tragic creature, so that's the science you would spend your lives following?!" Alphonse gasped, as Edward's eyes became wide with horror. Emmi glanced between the two of them, completely confused on who or what they were talking about, but it clearly made an impact on her friends. "That chimera was made because a man thought he could create when creation is the province of God alone!"

"Maybe you're right!" Edward shouted, causing a concern look to radiate off of Emmi. "But why did you have to kill her? You stole what little life she had left!" He spat venomously, as Scar's gaze turned into a hardened glare.

"Foolish as you are, you must've known that chimera could never return to her human state." Ed's eyes widened again, this time in anger. "It would have lived out its life as a laboratory specimen, treated as a test subject, but never again as a human being."

Emmi could see it was a harsh realization that they had so crudely come to terms with. She wanted to know what happened, but could feel that it was dangerous territory to walk on, and a memory so painful the brothers did not want to even think about.

"It's true. State alchemist have made some serious mistakes." Edward spoke after a moment. "But despite what you think, that doesn't make what you're doing right. We can't let you continue!" His eyes sharpened, and Emmi readied herself for more of a fight. "You think you're so self-righteous, but do you remember two Amestrian doctors named Rockbell?" Emmi's eyes widened when she realized that that was Winry's last name. _Those are her parents, aren't they?_ Scar's expression changed, as his eyes widened slightly upon hearing the name.

"The order came down to end the uprising and exterminate Ishval but that didn't stop them. They kept right on and helping your people!" Ed's voice went sour, and in that moment Emmi heard soft footsteps as her eyes went to the source. She locked eyes with Winry, who Emmi had no idea how long she had been standing there. Winry's face was in complete shock at the mention of her parents, and Emmi's face fell in sorrow when she looked into Winry's sad eyes. Alphonse gasped, upon seeing Winry as well, as he hurried to shout at his brother.

"Wait brother!" Edward did not listen, and kept interrogating Scar without realizing that Winry was right there, listening to every word he was saying.

"Don't you remember them? Those doctors saved your life! And you killed them!" Scar took a sharp breath, as Emmi could tell that he remembered the lives that he had taken.

"Ed!" Emmi shouted, and he turned to her, and immediately seeing the pain on her face as she pointed to behind Scar, and Ed snapped his head in the direction of her finger to lock eyes with a brokenhearted Winry.

"...What are you talking about, Ed?" She spoke quietly that Emmi almost could not hear it. Ed's face morphed into complete guilt, as he stuttered on his next words before Winry cut him off. "You mean he's the man? Who killed them? My parents?...He...killed them?" Her voice cracked, as Emmi could hear the tears in her voice upon understanding that Scar was the one who killed her parents. "What's worse...is that they helped save you...and you killed them…"

Scar turned slowly, his red eyes meeting Winry's. Winry fell to the ground, with utter shock and confusion in her voice as she was on her knees. Emmi could not imagine that emotions that Winry was feeling, and even worse was that she did not know that to say. The environment around them turned gloomy, and completely silent. "What did they do to you? They were my mom and dad...They were doctors! They helped people...They didn't deserve to die!" Winry sobbed, grabbing her head in agony as her wails echoed through the alleyway.

"Give them back! Give me back my mom and dad, you monster!" She shouted at Scar, as Scar stood there staring deeply at her, as if he was trying to understand something. Her hands feel forward towards the ground, and that's when Emmi noticed the gun close to Winry. Ed did too, as he gasped slightly when he saw Winry reach for it slowly, with shaky hands.

"Winry...hold on. You can't…Don't do this!" Edward tried to reason with her but Winry already had the gun in her hands.

"Winry!" Alphonse pleaded.

"Please don't, Winry!" Emmi spoke, but it was too late, as she had the gun locked onto Scar, with confused, painful eyes full of tears.

"This girl is the doctor's daughter? You have the right...Shooting me would be justified." Scar spoke, his hardened gaze softening in the very slightest as Winry held him at gunpoint. "Go ahead. Shoot."

"Winry, no!" Emmi spoke, taking a slight step forward.

"Don't do it, Winry! Put down the gun!" Edward shouted, with Alphonse overlapping him.

"You know you don't want to do this! Winry!"

"Shoot, girl. But know, the moment you pull the trigger, there is no going back. You will be my enemy."

"Scar!" Alphonse shouted, with Edward and Emmi chiming in.

"You won't touch her!" Emmi shouted in anger, her hand quickly engulfed in darkness.

"If you think I'm going to let you hurt one hair on her head!" Edward shouted back at Scar, with Winry still shakily holding the gun, with her finger slowly moving closer to the trigger.

"Will you kill me?" Scar snapped at Edward. "That'd be fine with me, until one of us dies, boy, this chain of hatred will continue. But don't ever forget! That it was the Amestrians that pulled the trigger in the Civil War! It was _your_ people!"

Winry's sobs were apparent, as Emmi's eyes went back to hers.

"Winry...please!"

"Don't shoot!" Edward warned.

"Just put the gun down and get out of here!" Winry's eyes never left Scar's figure, her brows furrowing upon deciding to shoot him or not.

"If you can't shoot, then do as the boy says! You're in my way!" Scar shouted, turning towards Ed and slamming his hand to the ground, rupturing the concrete as it shot towards Ed. He jumped, towards Winry's direction.

"Don't shoot!" Scar followed him in the air, and right as he was about to attack, he paused, as Ed had put himself between the gun and Scar, in a protective stance with his arm extended to protect Winry and his body facing Scar. They both stopped, glaring at each other heavily. Alphonse came from the side and swung his leg at Scar, who dodged in that last second before Emmi joined him, swinging her dark fists at Scar to lead him away from Ed and Winry. Alphonse clapped his hands together and ruptured the ground with quick boulders shooting at Scar who jumped far out of the way.

Alphonse turned to Edward. "Ed, you idiot! What are you doing, both of you will get killed!" Alphonse's gaze shifted to Scar, as Emmi was watching him carefully, prepared to defend herself and her friends. Alphonse shot towards Scar, as Emmi turned to Ed and Winry.

"Go get her somewhere safe! We'll cover you!" Emmi commanded before following Al, and heading towards Scar. _Hurry, Ed! Al and I can't hold him off for long!_ They hurried and continued the fight with Scar, to buy time for Ed and Winry to get somewhere safe.

* * *

 **hi. yeah sorry, lmao, i'm back. im not gonna give anymore excuses, but im back and its summer so i am excited to get back into writing and i really hoped you enjoy this chapter! i deleted the original one and rewrote it and added Backs in the Distance, just so that it was longer and more enjoyable. stay tuned for more chapters coming!**

 **-me**


	9. Girl on the Battlefield

With a clap of his hand, and with Scar's retialtation, a huge explosion ruptured through the city as a giant cloud of smoke filled the air. Al used his alchemy to form a hand to grab Scar as he jumped but he escaped it just barely. Emmi had sustained quite a bit of injuries that she was not yet aware of. She had a cut on her arm that was still bleeding, harsh bruises on her ribs that were going to last for weeks. Emmi shot through the smoke, once again with her fist coated in darkness as she used her energy to shoot her up high, and land a punch to Scar's chest to throw him down. She was successful, as he crashed to the ground hard with passersby and officers surrounding the area screamed in fright.

She landed on the ground, with Al next to her. Scar stood, looking almost unfazed.

"You." He glared at Emmi, who returned it with a hardened smirk. "You use a kind of alchemy as well. But yours is evil...I can feel it."

Emmi almost chuckled. "And you're not?" Her hands engulfed in darkness, as she was ready to attack again.

"Where did you learn such rare technique?"

"Like I'd tell you that." Emmi spoke sarcastically, but it was partly true. She had no memory of the ability she had or where she learned it. Scar grunted, before turning towards Alphonse.

"There's nothing in that suit. You're hollow, aren't you? This is what alchemy does to you!" Emmi's smirk dropped, more annoyance seeping into her features.

"It's nothing I can't handle! My brother used alchemy to save my life! To regret the form I have no would not only reject alchemy, but also turning my back on him. I believe in my brother, and I believe in alchemy. I will not lose faith! I want to believe!" Alphonse shouted, filling Emmi's heart with something warm, and something she had felt in a long time.

"And that's all that matters, isn't it?" Emmi spoke, with a grin on her face.

"Oh, do you?" Scar spat, as water from a nearby open valve engulfed him, as he shot his hand forward and used his alchemy to turn it into heavy steam, blinding the two of them in an instant. Emmi reacted quickly, jumping in front of Alphonse and immediately warped a shield of darkness, like how she did when Roy had fought Lust. Scar was quick to charge at them in this single moment, and Emmi was ready for the impact when suddenly Scar went flying backwards, and Emmi turned to see Ed, who quickly defended the attack.

"Ed!"

"Brother!" Emmi and Al shouted in unison, as the steam cleared and Emmi released the shield.

"Where's Winry?" Alphonse questioned, as Ed wiped some blood that was coating his face.

"She's safe. No thanks to me, though. I made her cry again."

"You really should pay more attention to the people around you." Emmi spoke, a lightness carrying her voice as she gave a mischievous smile to Ed, whose eye began twitching in annoyance.

"She doesn't like to see you fight like that." Alphonse spoke, and Ed nodded.

"But she's safe now. Let's end this!" Edward commanded and the three of them readied themselves, as Scar did as well. It was only silent for a second before another voice came from behind Scar, causing their attention to shift to that.

"Ooooh! I found you!" It was dark, yet a creepily, playful voice. "The Ishvaliannnnn!" That harsh, aching feeling shot through Emmi. It was the same presence she felt when she arrived to Central, and once again not even an hour ago. That evil feeling, she finally realized it was from this homunculus. The homunculus shouted, with his large tongue out of his mouth like an animal. Emmi could see the ouroboros tattoo printed on his tongue, as his large body swayed upon realizing his "snack" was right in front of him. That tattoo reminded her of something, yet she could not place it. Her vision went blurry for a moment, before it cleared again.

"You again…!" Scar muttered, as the homunculus leaped at Scar, as he grabbed him from midair and shoved him down, and using his alchemy with the homunculus vomiting blood from his mouth. The creature screamed, but it had almost no effect on him as he turned to Scar and smiled, before using his bodyweight and shoving Scar into the nearby crates that surrounded them. The monster threw himself at Scar again, impacting Scar and creating a big dent into the metal crate. The monster jumped off, and was about to crush Scar again when Al and Ed kicked the homunculus out of the way, as he bounced off to the side. In that same moment, a small explosion and some smoke filled the air up in the sky, and Emmi's eyes shot to see Ling, with his sword in his mouth and a some kind of material in his hands.

"It's Ling!" Ed shouted, as Ling pulled the string and Emmi had realized it was a bomb, as he dropped down he shoved it down the homunculus's throat and shouted.

"Go! Move it!" He yelled as he stood atop of the homunculus, and Ed and Al moved back before the creature inflated and exploded from the inside out, causing flesh and blood to project quickly. Some flesh landed before Emmi, and she almost gagged from disgust, but it suddenly vaporized into black mist right before her eyes. She ran forward, to provide support when she saw the creature began to regenerate its body, with red electricity it quickly to its form back, and that's when Ling shouted.

"I need some strong cable!" Ed nodded quickly, before running over to a metal pipe and forming the cable that Ling needed. He took it and as the homunculi was regenerating its body, he took the cable and began wrapping it tightly around the monster, causing it to become trapped.

"Your own regenerative abilities is working against you! Your flesh won't stop expanding. That will keep you tied up nice and tight! You're mine now! Homunculus!" Emmi watched in shock, that Ling had just trapped the homunculus. She was amazed, re-evaluating Ling's ability as a fighter. _Maybe he isn't such a goofy prince after all._ That emotion was quickly overruled when two gunshots rang out, and one hitting Scar as he grunted in pain. She looked towards the source, seeing that it was Riza Hawkeye driving in a car, wearing a white coat with glasses that she clearly did not need. Her hair was down too, flying everywhere in the wind as she held her gun up before hitting the brakes and swerving to the side.

"Put him in. We're getting out of here!" Emmi was confused. Ling did not ask questions, just lifted the homunculus and put him to the backseat of the car as he jumped in.

"Wait, Lieute-!"

"Shh!" Riza quickly shushed him, to avoid him giving out her real identity before she sped off, leaving the three of them completely baffled.

"Wait what's going on?!" Alphonse called after the car, but she was long gone that Emmi did not even think she heard Alphonse shout. Ed held his hand out towards his brother. Emmi turned to see a couple dozen military policemen around, with their guns out.

"The officers are here." Emmi spoke quietly, as Ed nodded.

"Let's pretend that we don't know her. The Colonel may be a creep, and a jerk but at least we can trust him. We have something to do." Edward's head shot towards Scar, who was quietly limping away as Ed charged at him. Scar was significantly slower, from being shot in the leg, as Ed made a punch at him but Scar still carefully swung his leg in defense, as Ed shot back to a safer distance as Scar slammed his hand to the ground, shattering the concrete.

"Let's get him, guys! Emmi, you ready?"

"Yup!" She focused her energy to her hands and hardened them.

"Alphonse!" Ed signaled, as they clapped their hands together in unison.

"You killed the Rockbells and Nina!" Ed shouted, with Alphonse joining.

"You're going to pay for you crimes!" But before the two could do anything, a quick patter of steps echoed by Alphonse and he was suddenly shot to the side, immediately colliding into Emmi and causing the two of them to crash to the ground. Emmi was under Alphonse, being absolutely crushed by the weight of his armor. She definitely felt something break.

"Al! Get off me!" Emmi shouted muffled from under Alphonse, who seemed to feel that he had something under him. He stood quickly.

"Emmi! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!" He shouted concerned, but Emmi just laid there for a few moments, cringing from the pain as she slowly sat up.

"You...are way too heavy…" She huffed out, as Alphonse scratched the back of his metal neck sheepishly. She sat up slowly, huffing in slight pain as she rubbed her back, looking forward at what caused Alphonse's excruciatingly heavy body to fall atop of hers. She shook her head sharply to rid the dizziness when her eyes fell to a young Xingese girl, wearing pink foreign outfit that Emmi had never seen before. Her hair was in two high buns, with braids spilling out and reaching down to her knees. Emmi did not fail to notice the small animal on her shoulder as well, who mimicked her very actions. She was in the fighting stance next to Scar, as if she was trying to protect him.

"This is the servant of that man who saved my life! You better leave him alone!" Her petite voice shouted, before pointing a finger at Ed. "You puny little boy!"

Ed was up in less than a second, practically spitting in her face in his insecurity about his height.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?! WHO YOU CALLING PUNY?!"

Resonating footsteps sounded from Emmi's side, as a few military police ran towards them and pointed their guns at Scar and the girl.

" _Where'd that kid come from?"_

" _Get away, girl!"_

" _It's dangerous!"_

"They've got us surrounded! It's time for us to retreat!" The young girl shouted, suddenly grabbing several kunais and interlocking them in between her fingers as she crossed her arms in a swift motion, and threw them, immediately forming a perfect circle against the giant water pump and a crate full of coal behind the Ed, Al and Emmi.

She then used her foot and quickly sketched a circle in the ground, then a star, before sticking more kunais in the circle and throwing her hands on top as she used alchemy. _This kid knows how to use alchemy?!_

Emmi quickly pondered as she saw blue lightning before she was suddenly engulfed in smoke. Emmi stood, coughing haphazardly as she heard the screams of the soldiers who were still in the area. She couldn't see very well, but followed the sound of Ed and Al's voice.

"What kind of alchemy was that?" Ed questioned between coughs, as Alphonse had questions too.

"She did it from that far away?!" Emmi waved her hands wildly to try and rid the smoke, but there was so much she could barely see anything. Ed's frustration was visible when they realized that Scar and the girl had gotten away.

"Scaaar!"

* * *

After the chaos that they experienced, they were tired. They got a car to take them to Central Command, and were currently sitting in the car. The hum and soft bumps were usually enough to make Emmi sleepy, but she was full of energy at the moment. Mostly because she was holding a very cute animal that Al just happened to find.

"AWWW! LOOK AT HER! SHE'S SO CUTE!" Emmi squealed, holding the small panda bear comfortably. The creature was shaking in fear, and Emmi was trying her best to calm her down.

"I couldn't leave her in all that mess back there." Alphonse spoke proudly, as Ed grinded his teeth before shouting in annoyance.

"First stray cats and now this! We don't have time to be adopting panda bears, Al! Get rid of it!"

"What a heartless thing to say!" Alphonse spoke with a clear pout in his voice.

"Ed, stop it! You're scaring her!" Emmi shouted back, before comforting the small panda bear and hugged her to Emmi's chest. The panda bear started to squirm in her chest so Emmi let her have some air as she waved her small arms around.

"Look how sweet and gentle she is…" Alphonse cooed, poking his hand into the panda bear's cheek a couple times before the animal wrapped her mouth around his finger tightly, giving him a sharp bite. The car went quiet for a moment, as Alphonse simply giggled before taking the small animal from Emmi gently.

"It's alright. You're safe now." He comforted, as the creature slowly let go of his toothy grip and seemed to be more comfortable and not as fearful. Emmi smiled brightly.

"You're such a good girl, aren't you?" She praised, as the panda grew soft.

"...Good grief." Ed muttered in annoyance before the car started to slow down, until they reached the gates of Central Command. They got out of the car, as the panda jumped into Emmi's hands from Al's. She held her gently as an officer told them to follow him.

They walked through the big hallways of Central Command, encountering officers on guard duty or being in a rush until they reached the room that they were supposed to get to. Emmi took the panda and placed her on her shoulder, and she could see the small animal get comfortable in her wavy ponytail as she disappeared from view.

The officer opened the door to see Winry, sitting quietly in a chair by a small rectangular table with a small cup in front of her.

"Winry!" Emmi called out happily, jumping slightly towards her before stopping completely at seeing who was at the other side of the table.

"Hey, Winry!-" Ed called out, before spotting the person as well.

"Oh! Hello, Fullmetal Alchemist. And Alphonse Elric, and Miss Emmi herself." Fuhrer Bradley greeted, sipping on his cup of coffee as he waved it slightly as a gesture.

"Fuhrer Bradley. This is a surprise." The ruler smiled under his thick mustache, before addressing everyone's curiosity.

"I heard that a childhood friend of yours was under our protection. As a friend of such an important alchemist, she deserves our every courtesy." Emmi frowned. Every since she met this man, she has gotten nothing but a bad feeling from him. It made her heart quiver in fear, yet it was like she was ready to attack at any moment. It was strange, but she could feel a similar feeling to what she felt when she saw the other Homunculus, but.. _there's definitely something up with this guy. I know there is._

The Fuhrer stood, grabbing the sword that was on his side. "I should be on my way now. If you please excuse me, miss."

"Oh, of course, sir." Winry addressed politely, giving him a small bow. Emmi watched as the Fuhrer walked past them, his steps giving Emmi the chills as he headed out the door, but stopped.

"That's a nice, honest friend you got there. Make sure you three take good care of her." Then he was gone. Emmi took a deep breath, letting out her relief as he was gone. Ed and Alphonse crept to the door, peeking their heads to the direction that the Fuhrer had just walked down, before Winry spoke.

"Ed. You promised. Tell me everything about my parents. What happened to them?" Her face was filled with sadness again.

So Ed proceeded to tell Winry everything. She learned about Scar, and how they did everything in their power to help the people around them. Winry cried some more, just wanting her parents to still be with her. It was sorrowful, and painful to see Winry cry.

The sun began to set. Ed thought it would be a good idea to head back to the hotel so that Winry could get some rest. They managed to catch a bus and rode in a quiet car ride to the hotel. Emmi sat next to Winry, with Alphonse and Ed in front of small panda was in Emmi's lab, sleeping quietly as Winry looked dazed, gazing out of the window. Ed looked towards the floor of the bus, with furrowed brows and a frown while Alphonse sat quietly.

The thought of Winry's parents made Emmi question her own. She still could not remember a thing, nothing from her childhood or where she learned how to use her ability. For as long as she could remember, she was always on her own, with this ability that had no origin, and everytime she would try and think of her family, it only came up with blurry flashes and then darkness. She needed to figure out where she came from-she was living in a life that did not even feel like her own. Almost like a disembodied experience.

"Emmi?" Emmi snapped out of her thoughts as she blinked and turned her head to the side. They had arrived, as Winry stood by her, waiting patiently. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah…! Sorry." She scooped the sleepy animal and climbed out of the bus, and they walked in.

Upon entering, the hotel attendant waved at Winry with a telephone in his hand, calling her over.

"Ah! Perfect timing! Ms. Rockbell, there's a telephone call for you." Winry looked surprised-she was not expecting phone calls.

"For me?" She muttered, before making her way over and the attendant handed her the phone.

"Hello?" Winry greeted. Emmi could not hear who it was on the phone, but whoever it was, they brought tears to her eyes, with her face brightening with a warm smile.

"Okay. I'll be back home soon. Just hold on. I'll help everyone. Thank you all."

* * *

They found themselves at the train station, as Winry had to return home to help out her automail customers. The warm sunset seemed to brighten the mood, with passengers giving hugs, kisses and tears to departing family members who boarded the train, or gave hugs and kisses to returning family and friends. It made Emmi's heart warm. The small panda bear had taken refuge in Alphonse's suit, probably sleeping. Before they left the hotel, Ed and Emmi had their wounds cleaned up. Emmi now had a bandage wrapped around her arm, along with a smallers for the cuts on her face and legs. She changed clothes as well, from her others being soiled with dirt and blood. She changed into one of Ed's black short-sleeved shirts, and a pair of Winry's jean shorts, seeing as though Emmi did not have any other clothes. She kept her brown boots, as they were also the only pair of shoes that she had.

"Thank you, you three. For stopping me back there." Winry spoke, with a happier attitude than before, as she spoke to them through the window of her seat in the train. "I forgot there were still people who depended on me. If I had done it, I wouldn't be able to face them again." Her face lit up, before she gave Ed a smile. "I expect you to take good care of your automail!"

Ed chuckled. "Yup!"

"Oh, and I'll send some good polishing oils for you, Al!" Alphonse gave her an excited "Thank you!"

Winry then looked towards Emmi as her eyes lit up again in remembrance. "Oh! Emmi, I forgot I got you something." Winry dug around in her pocket, before holding up something small in her hand. It was a beautiful metal clip. It was in the shape of a small red rose, with the clip sticking out of the side. "It's a hair clip! It reminded me of you, so I got it for you." Emmi gasped slightly at how pretty it was, a giant smile decorating her face as she reached for it, and Winry dropped it in her hand. She immediately pulled her messy bangs from the left side of her face and pinned them back with the clip and beamed at Winry.

"Thank you, Winry!" Winry gave her a smile before Emmi trapped her in a quick hug before steam escaped the train, as it was getting ready to depart.

The two pulled apart, as Winry spoke again.

"...And no dying, okay?" Emmi grinned and nodded, as Ed and Al did the same.

The bell to the train rang heavily, alerting all passengers that they were departing. Ed spoke, but Winry could not hear it due to the bell.

"What? I can't hear you!" Ed's eyebrow twitched, before he turned away abruptly and started to walk away.

"Brother! Wait up!" Alphonse called after him, before giving Winry a quick wave. "See ya, Winry!"

"Take care of yourself, Winry! We'll see you soon!' Emmi called after Alphonse, giving her a brief wave before running to catch up with Ed and Al. She heard Winry say something quietly, but as Emmi caught up to the brothers, she turned when Winry shouted.

"Come back, Edward! What were you saying?!" Ed stopped, with his shoulders slightly quivering, before he turned to Winry, his eyebrows furrowed, before he shouted back.

"The next I make you cry I hope they'll be tears of joy! And Al and I will be back in our normal bodies and we'll make you cry out of sheer happiness! That's a promise!" Emmi smiled, before feeling a calm breeze danced through her hair. She could see Winry smiling, before she gave a short chuckle and a wave as the train screeched, before moving forward.

"Aww, that was sweet, Ed. Who knew you could be nice?" Emmi teased, as they made their way to the exit of the train station.

"Shuddup!"

* * *

As they made their way outside, they were automatically greeted by another car that halted to a stop and made a loud screeching noise when it did.

"Colonel!" Ed spoke in surprise. Roy gave a quick look around before speaking.

"Get in the car." Emmi complied, heading towards the seat next to the Colonel as Ed and Al got into the back. They made a short drive down a couple streets and through neighborhoods until they reached a certain house. Roy got out of the car, and headed to the front gate of the house and waited. It was only for a couple of minutes, as the man he was waiting from walked up the street. It was Dr. Knox. Emmi remembered seeing him when she first met Edward and Alphonse. Although Emmi could not hear them from the car, Roy and him exchanged a few words before she could see Dr. Knox cursing under his breath and they both made their way to the car. He squeezed in next to Emmi and Roy got into the driver's seat before they headed off again.

They reached an undercover safehouse as it became nightfall. The calming stars amongst the dark sky calmed Emmi down as they exited the car, taking note of all the empty space that there was out here. Her calmness escaped her the moment she walked into the house. She felt that same feeling, from the Homunculus before, and knew that it was here. The three of them learned of Lan Fan as well, who had cut off her arm in an attempt to escape. Roy had asked Dr. Knox to perform surgery on her. They met up with Ling as well, who was in distraught at the status of Lan Fan. Her constant screams of pain broke Emmi's heart. She wanted to say something to Ling, but she could not think of anything. _What did you say to a person whose friend cut her arm off?_

"I'm sorry-" Ed began, but Ling quickly cut him off.

"No, don't apologize. I'm the one who suggested it, remember? We both had something to gain in this. When I went into search about immortality, I knew I must be ready to make certain sacrifices." Emmi's eyes fell to the floor as her eyebrows furrowed. As well as Ed and Alphonse's. "But I...I wasn't ready for this. Lan Fan was, though. She made a decision that I was too weak to make." Ling's voice was filled with pain as he spoke, and it went quiet as Lan Fan's screams filled the hallway.

They stopped after awhile, as the doctor informed us that she had fallen asleep. They were there when she woke up. Emmi could not begin to imagine the pain she must be experiencing, or how Lan Fan managed to cut her own arm off.

"She's awake!" Alphonse spoke quietly.

"You okay? Anything we can do?" Ed suggested, as she turned to him with a pained smile.

"That old trap of yours...worked pretty well. But I'm useless without my arm. I'm going to need to find a replacement."

Emmi's eyes widened at those words. "But...you need to rest! And get better!" Her voice was laced with concern as Lan Fan turned to her with the same small smile.

"I have to do something...I can't...be useless…" Emmi sighed. She knew there was no way she was going to convince Lan Fan of anything. Ed's metal arm shifted, before he gave Lan Fan a smile.

"You know… I could introduce you to a great engineer!" Lan Fan gave him a nod, before Dr. Knox shooed them out to let her get her rest. They headed out to the hallway, where Ling was still sitting, and talking to Roy as they gazed into another room. Ed, Al and Emmi followed the direction of their gaze until they saw the Homunculus, still wrapped tightly in the steel cable from before.

"What...is it?" Emmi questioned, watching as the big homunculi squirmed in his tiny prison.

"They call him Gluttony. We've fought him before. He's a homunculus." Roy answered, glaring down at the Homunculus known as Gluttony. "He and his friends seem to have some connection between the military senior staff."

"Just some, you say?!" Ling's voice rose slightly in anger. "It goes far deeper than that. Your Fuhrer King Bradley...I believe it's possible that he's a homunculus too." Emmi's eyes were wide. _I knew there was something off about him. He has given me a bad vibe every since I met him._ His eyebrows furrowed, thinking carefully about something before he spoke again. "I saw his eye. The one under the patch-it had an Ouroboros tattoo. He and Gluttony came after us and they were working together."

"No way!" Ed spoke in shock, as Al chimed in.

"Our ruler?! A homunculus?!"

"Although," Ling continued, "Bradley doesn't have that inhumane presence that you get from Gluttony. At his core, he still feels like a regular person."

"Another thing," Alphonse spoke up, "If the Fuhrer is a homunculus, how could he possibly have a son? It said in that book that the Homunculi have no reproductive capabilities!"

"No," Dr. Knox debunked, "The Fuhrer's son Selim is adopted. There's no blood relation between him and his father." The air went heavy with distraught, and confusion for a moment, before Roy's soft chuckle broke the silence.

"Whether he's monster or human, these new developments will be easier to remove him from the seat of power." Roy turned to look at the struggling Gluttony. "First we get information out of this one. Then I'll take his stone. It could prove useful to my men."

"Hey, you!" Ling suddenly lashed out in anger, grabbing Roy by the collar. "Lan Fan lost her arm to get him! He's our captive! We're taking him back to Xing!"

"Hold it! It can help us get our bodies back! We've been working on that for a long time! I'm not gonna let you waltz off with him!" Ed shouted back, as Emmi felt a pull, and her gaze turned to Gluttony. The boys started arguing who should get the Philosopher's Stone, as Dr. Know muttered something and headed back to the room.

There was something different about Gluttony. He seemed to be muttering something to himself, when his skin started to expand more aggressively than before. Emmi immediately morphed her hands with dark energy, and that got the attention of the guys. Gluttony started to scream, his body getting bigger and bigger before he stood on his feet before screaming.

"Roy Mustaanng!" In the middle of his belly, a sharp line formed before it completely split open, teeth like fangs spewing out around the sides, before a giant eye formed in the center of the darkness. Emmi's eyes opened wide in shock and horror, before a bright light from the eye blinded Emmi, and she was then engulfed in white.

* * *

 _hello! i hope you enjoyed this chapter! im sorry it takes me so long to write these chapters but there's so much to_ _incorporate when i am writing them, and it takes way longer than i think lmao. anyway these next couple chapters coming are some of my favorite episodes of the anime series, so i am super excited to start writing those! coming soon, stay tuned! (;_

 _-me_


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